Reuters – Greece has found African swine fever (ASF) in a wild boar in the north of the country, the World Organization for Animal Health said Jan. 23.
The disease was found in a dead wild boar in a forest in the Serres region, which borders Bulgaria and North Macedonia, according to Greek authorities.
Greece’s agriculture ministry also announced the outbreak, saying measures were being taken to avert spread.
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The case is the first since early 2020, when Greece faced its first-ever outbreak of ASF.
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The disease, noted for its mortality rates among pigs, has ripped through Asia and caused major disruptions in pork markets there since 2018. Europe is facing its own issues with the disease, with cases cropping up in both domestic herds and wild boar in recent years.
The most recent monthly ASF update from world animal health, covering Dec. 12, 2022 to Jan. 5, 2023, noted recurring infections in Ukraine, Russia, Moldova and Latvia and a newly infected zone in Poland.
There were also ongoing outbreaks in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.
Europe topped the rest of the world’s regions during the reporting period, accounting for 18 domestic and 437 wild outbreaks.
Asia was the only other region to report new cases. There were four domestic outbreaks in the reporting window. No wild cases were noted.
The animal health agency noted 2,420 domestic outbreaks in Europe between January 2021 and Jan. 5 of this year.
