Significant rise in African swine fever cases in the EU last year

For domestic pigs, 2023 saw the largest number of African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks since 2014. Croatia and Romania made up 96% of the total number of outbreaks (1,929). Outbreaks in wild boar also increased by 10% compared to the previous year. Additionally, the virus was introduced for the first time in Sweden and Croatia, spread to new areas of Italy, and re-appeared in Greece after a two-year hiatus. Germany, Hungary and Slovakia, however, experienced fewer outbreaks in wild boar. READ MORE: Looming threat of African Swine Fever prompts biosecurity alert A total of 14 EU Member States were affected by ASF last year, and it caused a five-fold increase in outbreaks in domestic pigs compared to the previous year. These findings were reported in the latest annual epidemiological report published by EFSA today. EFSA’s experts recommend prioritising passive surveillance, including the searching and testing of wild boar carcasses, rather than active surveillance, including the ...