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A second farm in western Poland was infected with African swine fever (ASF) this year. A facility in the pig-rich province of Greater Poland with 3,000 pigs on site tested positive on May 26th.
The company is located in the Miedzychód district in Greater Poland, reported the authorities of the Greater Poland Province, 110 km from the border with Germany. Of course, the pigs on the farm are killed and all biosecurity measures are taken.
Three outbreaks of African swine fever were recently detected in wild boars in the immediate vicinity. These outbreaks were quite notable as no outbreaks have been reported from the Greater Poland Province since September 2020. The cluster is located approximately 50 km from the nearest other known ASF infected wild boar cases. A search team is monitoring to see if any more animals with ASF are found. They are equipped with drones to monitor hard-to-reach areas.
2020: A total of 103 Polish companies with ASP. infected
For comparison: In 2020, a total of 103 farms were infected with ASFv. Some of them were commercial establishments, but most were backyard farms. Since the outbreak of ASF in wild boars in Poland in 2014, 342 farms have been infected, the vast majority of them in eastern Poland. In western Poland, 14 farms have been infected so far. There the virus appeared in a separate cluster in November 2019.
A second pig farm in Poland was found positive for ASF in 2021. – Photo: Henk Riswick
It is known that the number of wild boar falls is highest in winter and decreases in the summer months. This pattern can also be seen now, although the cases that have been reported are farther from known locations.
ASF case in wild boars in the west of the Greater Poland Province
For example, on May 14, another case of positive wild boar was discovered in Greater Poland near the Brody hamlet, which is in the far east of the Wielkopolska province, about 130 km east of other known infected wild boar cases. Interestingly, the location is relatively close (22 km) to the location of 2 infected pig farms that were reported in September 2020.
Another case that extends the entire infected zone in western Poland is the discovery of an ASF-positive carcass near Lubiechów Dolny, a village on the German border. Never before has a carcass been found so north on the German border; it is over 20 km further north than in previous cases.
ASF virus is creeping north
This means that the virus is slowly but steadily becoming a challenge for the 3rd German state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which borders on Poland. This state has a relatively short border with Poland (62.4 km) and set out pretty quickly to put up a permanent fence in September 2020 to keep wild boars out – the fence was ready 2 months later. Agriculture Minister Dr. Till Backhaus explained Germany’s agricultural title Top agriculture: “The fence is an important element of ASF prevention, alongside various other animal hygiene-related measures that have ensured that the disease has not yet occurred in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Our decision was the right one. “
That doesn’t mean that Germany is completely carefree. Cases are still being found on the German side of the border. Core zones have now been established north and south of the city of Frankfurt an der Oder. Occasionally, new cases are found outside the core zones (but often inside the white zones that are part of the strategy for overcoming the ASF problems).
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