January 25, 2023

 

Drop in EU's ASF cases in 2022

 

 

 

African swine fever (ASF) cases in the European Union decreased by 80% in pigs and 40% in wild boar last year, according to Pig333.

 

Since the first occurrence of the disease in the EU in 2014, 2022 was the first year in which cases of the disease in wild boar decreased, from 12,076 cases in 2021 to only 7,282 in 2022, representing a 40% reduction.

 

As for domestic pigs, after a dramatic increase in 2018, there was a decrease in cases in 2020 compared to 2019 (-35%). Cases increased again in 2021 (+52%) and decreased by almost 80% in 2022, from 1,826 cases to 379.

 

In relation to cases in wild boar, Poland continued to be the country where most cases were reported with 2,152, although down by 33%. Germany was in second place with 1,628 cases, albeit down 36% from the previous year.

 

Cases also fell significantly in Hungary (-79%) and Slovakia (-67%). In Estonia, cases have been progressively declining since 2017, with only 57 confirmed cases in 2022.

 

In contrast, cases increased in Latvia (+148%), Lithuania (+24%), Bulgaria (+22%) and Italy (+1747%). Italy had only reported cases on the island of Sardinia, where the disease is endemic, but in January 2022 the disease jumped to the north of the country, with 277 cases confirmed.

 

Also noteworthy is the situation in the Czech Republic where a case was confirmed after more than four years without the reported presence of the disease.

 

As for cases with domestic pigs, Romania continued to be the country with the most confirmed cases (329) although these decreased by 80% compared to the previous year.

 

Another country with the highest number of cases was Poland, which, in 2021, had 124 cases and, in 2022, confirmed only 14, a drop of almost 90%. The rest of the countries with ASF in domestic pigs reported two to six confirmed cases per country.

 

- Pig333