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Although Switzerland is free of African swine fever (ASF), the dynamic situation in neighboring countries requires the country to be ready to act. In the event of an outbreak of ASF in wild boars, the 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:
- ban throwing of food waste into nature
- ban walking on forest trails and obligate dogs to be on leashes
- 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 the national reference laboratory, the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) is responsible for the diagnosis of this virus in Switzerland and contributes to a number of international research projects aimed at developing safe and effective vaccines.
USAV closely monitors developments in the international epizootic situation and reports regularly in its Radar Bulletin, a monthly publication that provides information on the epizootic situation abroad and threats to Switzerland.
April 18, 2024/ Swiss Federal Council/ Switzerland.
https://www.admin.ch/
