ASF outbreaks in the EU in 2023 have multiplied by 5

Published May 17, 2024

Tridge summary

In 2023, African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks in the EU surged, especially among domestic pigs, with Croatia and Romania accounting for 96% of cases. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) noted that 88% of these outbreaks occurred between July and October, primarily identified through clinical suspicion. ASF also spread among wild boars, with a 10% increase in outbreaks compared to 2022, particularly in Sweden, Croatia, and new areas of Italy. EFSA advises prioritizing passive surveillance for effective detection and plans to publish a scientific opinion on ASF risk factors in October 2024.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

In 2023, 14 Member States were affected by African swine fever (ASF), resulting in a five-fold increase in outbreaks in domestic pigs compared to the previous year, reaching a similar magnitude to that of 2019. This was mainly due to the introduction and subsequent spread of ASF in Croatia and its resurgence in Romania, which accounts for 96% of EU outbreaks. These are the main conclusions of the latest annual epidemiological report published yesterday by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). For domestic pigs, 2023 saw the highest number of African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks since 2014. Croatia and Romania reported 96% of the total number of outbreaks (1,929). ASF outbreaks in domestic pigs were clearly seasonal in all countries: 88% of outbreaks were reported between July and October. Most ASF outbreaks among domestic pigs were detected by clinical suspicion (94%), followed by tracing in affected establishments (3%) and weekly testing of at least two dead pigs in ...

Source: Agrodigital