African Swine Fever: Cases Explode in Vietnam, New Case in Germany

African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread widely in Vietnam. Government officials said this outbreak has forced the culling of 230,000 hogs – three times the number of hogs culled in 2020, Reuters reports.

The outbreak has spread to 2,275 areas, now in 57 of the country’s 63 cities and provinces.

Meanwhile in Germany, a case of ASF was discovered in a wild boar in the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, close to a case found on a farm in the state earlier in November, the federal agriculture ministry said.

Reuters reports the source of the farm case in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has been unclear as wild boar in the state were not previously reported to have the disease. The region is located near Brandenburg and Saxony where more than 2,700 ASF cases have been reported in wild animals.

The case discovered in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was found in a dead wild hog near a motorway, which is of concern because animal droppings caught in vehicle tires are known to spread the disease, the article said. 

ASF is harmless to humans but fatal for pigs and causes major loss of pork exports for countries where the disease is present.

In an effort to eradicate ASF, Germany has been trying to contain the disease in east Germany by a protective corridor between two fences, Reuters reports. Within the zone inside the fences, the wild boar population would be reduced to zero by intensified hunting.

Germany has been successful containing the disease, authorities told Reuters, but continuing discoveries in wild animals could result in China and other big pork buyers keeping import bans on German pork. 

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