A case of African swine fever (ASF) was detected in a wild boar in Italy, authorities said on Friday. This is the first reported case on Italy’s mainland since the virus arrived in Western Europe in 2018, Phys.org reports. Italy is the European Union’s seventh largest pork producer with a $9.1 billion industry.
ASF is highly transmissible and almost always results in death for pigs, but the virus presents no human health or food safety risks.
The case was discovered in the region of Piedmont, Phys.org reports. Piedmont’s regional health department confirmed the case following tests on a wild boar which was found dead in Ovada in the northern region.
Crisis units are being set up at the local, regional and national level, while meetings are being held with authorities in veterinary services, forest management and wildlife and hunting, the article said.
In Italy, ASF has been endemic on the island of Sardinia since it first appeared there in 1978.
In western Europe, the virus was reported in Belgium in 2018. Germany confirmed its first case in a dead wild boar in 2020. After Germany’s first case, Italy activated a EU-approved surveillance and prevention plan, the article said.
The country plans to do everything possible to prevent the virus from spreading and is doubling down on its efforts to cull wild boars.
