An announcement has been made by the Polish Chief Veterinary Officer today, Tuesday, June 4, about an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in a herd of pigs.
It is understood that the outbreak occurred on a farm in the Lublin province of Poland that had over 8,000 pigs on site.
According to the Polish chief veterinary officer, “a total of four ASF outbreaks were found in 2019”.
These cases were confirmed based on the results of tests carried out by the national reference laboratory for ASF at the state veterinary institute, the National Research Institute in Pulawy.
According to the National Hog Farmer publication, this outbreak is “by far the largest outbreak in domestic pig populations” in the country.
The publication also remarked that ASF has been spreading across the country through wild boars and that since October 2018, there have been “more than 1,400 cases of ASF reported in wild boar populations”.
Irish minister’s advice
Meanwhile, in Ireland, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, has indicated that a risk has been posed with regard to the spreading of ASF to Ireland.
The minister has issued advice to members of the public about the deadly disease and the risk it poses to the pig sector in Ireland.
He has also advised Irish people and visitors to Ireland on what they can do to prevent the introduction of “this very serious disease into the country”.