Brazil reinforces alert after ASF in wild boars in Spain

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) announced that the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) was informed about the detection of African swine fever (ASF) in wild boars in the province of Barcelona, in Catalonia, on November 26. According to the agency, “as of December 2, nine cases have been confirmed, all restricted to wild boars,” with no records of the disease in domestic pigs. This is the first episode of the disease in Spain since 1994. ASF is a viral infection that affects domestic pigs, wild pigs, and wild boars. Mapa highlighted that, although it does not pose a risk to human health, “it is mandatory to report due to its high dissemination power and potential impact on production systems.” The presence of ticks of the genus Ornithodoros, which can act as vectors, increases the difficulty of controlling the disease in wild environments. The virus has high resistance in the environment and can remain active for long periods on clothing, footwear, vehicles, ...