ASF Poland: Infected wild boar numbers in Lubusz rise to 20

The 18 new cases were found during searches in the counties Wschowa and Nowa Sól in Lubusz province, as the reporting of a first positive case of African Swine Fever (ASF) in wild boar caused an alarm late last week. Early this week a 2^nd case was confirmed positive. All samples were tested by the National Veterinary Institute – National Research Institute in Pulawy, Poland.

20 carcasses in 9 locations

In a press release, the veterinary authorities stated that the in total 20 carcasses had been found in 9 different locations in these counties, which are both in the east of Lubusz province. A first fence around the initial 2 cases will be complemented by the planned construction of a second external fence, the authorities explained. In addition, the Polish army will help out in further searching of the area.

In the map below, all cases have been added. The blue markers are farms which have been confirmed positive for ASF over the last few years. The red markers show the locations where the wild boar have been found over the last week.

For locals, a bicycle path has been closed and also it has been strictly forbidden to enter the forest, the local newspaper Gazeta Lubuska wrote.

Virus now 80km from Germany

Until recently, African Swine Fever (ASF) only occurred in Eastern Poland. Late last week, however, the news broke that the virus had jumped to Lubusz province, in the west of the country. The outbreaks cause ASF now to be at about 80km from the border with Germany, one of Europe’s most important swine countries.

The first case was a ‘lucky’ find, as it was a routine testing of a female wild boar that had been killed in a road accident. In a press release, the Polish National Association of Pig Producers said, “If it wasn’t for the road accident, we would have found out much later that ASF appeared in Lubusz province.”

The association therefore is aware that a similar situation could have occurred in different provinces and wrote: “In our opinion, we should not hesitate and randomly search the areas of high density of wild boars in the provinces Pomerania, West Pomerania, Greater Poland and Lower Silesia. All dead boars found should be tested for ASF.”