May 6, 2024

Switzerland reveals measures against ASF

Switzerland's Federal Council recently announced actions to prevent African swine fever (ASF).

Although the country remains free of ASF, the situation in neighboring countries requires the country to be ready to act, the Swiss Federal Council said.

In the event of an outbreak of ASF in wild boars, the country's control strategy includes three main points: create a zone to prevent them from spreading the disease, search for and dispose of carcasses to prevent the virus from surviving in the environment, and, if necessary, intensively reduce the wild boar population.

In addition, cantons can restrict access to forests in at-risk areas and take the following measures: a ban on dumping of food waste into nature; a ban on walking on forest trails and obligate dogs to be on leashes; and a ban on hunting.

The measures also take into account the experience gained in affected EU countries through close cooperation on the matter between the Federal Office of Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (USAV) and the veterinary services of these countries.

As Switzerland's national reference laboratory, the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) is responsible for the diagnosis of ASF in the country and contributes to a number of international research projects aimed at developing safe and effective vaccines.

- Swiss Federal Council