Death of seven more wild boars from African Swine Fever confirmed

The Central Veterinary Laboratory of Algete (Madrid) has confirmed the presence of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus in seven additional wild boars that were found dead in the same municipality of Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, and very close to where the other two appeared last week. With these new positives, the presence of the disease is now confirmed in a total of nine wild animals, all in the same area, with the cases reported to the European Commission and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

Delimitation of the control area and biosecurity measures

The official veterinary services of Catalonia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, have designated a 20-kilometre control and surveillance zone around the detected cases. In this area, hunting has been prohibited to avoid the movement of wild boars and prevent the virus from spreading outside the zone. In addition, search and trapping activities have been reinforced with specifically trained personnel familiar with the area to reduce the density of wild boar populations.

Enhanced surveillance and control of access to the infected zone

The official veterinary services and the Cos d’Agents Rurals of the Generalitat of Catalonia have the collaboration of the Military Emergency Unit, the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Civil Guard (SEPRONA), and the Local Police to monitor access of unauthorized personnel to the infected zone, which includes Collserola Park. The objective is to reinforce the disinfection of all vehicles entering the perimeter.

A total of 120 rural agents have been deployed along with 26 operational work teams (carcass searches, trap installation, etc.). Another 117 members of the Military Emergency Unit have been mobilized, equipped with decontamination stations, equipment for handling captures under biosecurity conditions for their transport to laboratories and incineration centers, as well as a drone team capable of wide-area searches and nighttime detection using infrared.

Furthermore, at the ministry’s request, the Emergency Veterinary Team of the European Commission, made up of expert epidemiologists, has joined the efforts to assess the measures implemented on the ground and issue recommendations to strengthen actions to achieve control of the disease as soon as possible.

Negative results in pig farms

Regarding actions in pig farms, all farms located within the 20-kilometre area around the infected zone have been inspected, and no symptoms or compatible lesions have been detected in any of them. The samples taken on the farms have also tested negative. However, a high level of alert is being maintained with reinforced passive surveillance and biosecurity, both in Catalonia and in the rest of the autonomous communities.

ASF, a disease that does not affect humans

African Swine Fever is a disease that does not affect humans, neither through contact with animals nor through consumption of products derived from them. It is classified by the European Union (EU) as a category A disease, meaning that Member States must adopt specific measures to control and eradicate it as soon as possible in affected areas.

Given the situation, it is necessary to strengthen biosecurity measures on all pig farms and in transportation. The ministry reminds the public of the obligation to report any suspected cases to the veterinary services of the autonomous communities, whether in wild boar or domestic pigs throughout the national territory.

Source: MAPA.