EU: ASF outbreaks in domestic pigs increase

African swine fever entered the EU in 2014, affecting wild boars and domestic pigs in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland, and it got worse in 2016 with a constant trickle of cases in wild boars and a rise in the cases in domestic pigs. The disease spread in 2017 to the Czech Republic and Romania, and in 2018 it was confirmed in Hungary (April), Belgium (September) and Bulgaria (August), and reached Slovakia (July) and Serbia (August) in 2019.

The following table shows the evolution of the outbreaks in the different affected countries in the EU (until October 7^th, 2019).

In the specific case of the Czech Republic, we must highlight that since April 2018 no cases have been notified, so the disease is considered eradicated.

Romania has suffered an exponential growth in ASF cases in domestic pigs, with more than 1,400 cases in 2019 so far, some of them on large farms. According to the information provided by the Veterinary Health National Authority of Romania, since the emergence of the disease and to this date, 500,000 pigs affected by the disease have been culled.

Hungary still has no cases in domestic pigs, but there is an important rise in the cases in wild boars, going from 182 in 2018 to more than 1,100 in 2019 so far.

Bulgaria confirmed its first case in domestic pigs in August 2018, although it remained without new cases in domestic pigs until July 2019. The disease has progressed towards the frontier with Romania, with large farms affected and outbreaks in backyard farms.

Monday, October 14th, 2019/ 333’s editorial office from data provided by the ASNS/ Ministry of Agriculture of Spain and Veterinary Health National Authority of Romania.