New cases of African swine fever (ASF) continue to be reported throughout Europe and further afield, though no cases have been reported in the UK to date.
According to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), cases in domestic pigs in Europe have been reported across Europe over the last 12 months. Countries that have reported cases include: Bulgaria, Germany, Latvia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and the Ukraine.
Cases in wild boar have also been reported in Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, the Ukraine and, most recently, mainland Italy.
While ASF has been found on the island of Sardinia since the late 1970s, it has not been found in mainland Italy since 1993. The case was found in Piedmont, in the north-west, and is nearly 800 km away from the nearest confirmed case in domestic pigs in Germany and nearly 1000 km from the nearest case in wild boar in Hungary and Slovakia.
AHDB said that the “enormous geographical jump” between the locations suggested that human-mediated spread was the most likely source. The Board added that the large leap highlights the need for ongoing vigilance in the UK.
Currently there is a medium risk of ASF introduction to the UK.
Government response
Some countries in Asia have banned the import of pork and pork products from Italy altogether, but in the UK similar bans apply only to ASF-affected regions. Travellers are also not permitted to bring pork or pork products back from affected areas, and any products brought back from ASF-affected countries must be disposed of in a way that prevents pigs and wild boar being able to eat it.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee will be looking into border controls on food imports in March. The Wild Boar Working Group will also be meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the progress of the wild boar control programme in the Forest of Dean and the developing ASF situation in Italy.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
