A case of African swine fever (ASF) has been confirmed in pigs in east Germany, Reuters reported on June 6. The case was confirmed on a breeding operation in Greifswald in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the state’s agriculture ministry said.
In September 2020, China and a series of other pork buyers banned imports of German pork after the first ASF case was confirmed in wild pigs, with several cases in domesticated pigs following.
New outbreaks will make it difficult for Germany to get the export bans lifted, analysts told Reuters. China’s import ban remains in force.
Although ASF is not dangerous to humans, it is fatal to pigs and devastating to the pork supply chain. Because it is highly contagious among pigs, many countries have imposed bans on pork from ASF-affected regions.
Wild pigs coming into Germany from Poland are believed to have spread the disease to the country’s eastern states of Brandenburg and Saxony, Reuters reports, where several thousand cases in wild animals have occurred.
The German government is striving to contain and eradicate ASF. One of the methods is by reducing the wild boar population. However, the country’s large number of wild pigs, which roam over large distances, has made containment difficult, Reuters reports.
(Reporting by Michael Hogan; editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan)
