The events occurred in the Italian municipality of Moncalieri, an Italian commune of the Metropolitan City of Turin. These are the consequences of the spread of African swine fever in Europe.
At the beginning of the year ASF spread to Italy, the first case was detected in a wild boar found in the Piedmont region, in the northwest of the country. According to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the African swine fever (ASF) virus is the most important pathogen affecting the domestic and wild pig population worldwide. Swine fever currently does not have an effective vaccine.
Spain leads the development of a vaccine to fight the disease. It is expected that by 2024 it could be ready as an effective medicine. Meanwhile, hunting is the only solution to control the spread of the disease in wild boar.
African swine fever situation
The spread of the disease in the old continent encouraged the European Food Safety Authority in the fall of 2020 to launch a campaign, baptized with the name ‘Stop African swine fever’. The objective of the project is to raise awareness and sensitize the population and stop the serious outbreaks that can dangerously threaten the economy of our continent.
The disease was discovered in Kenya in 1910, and the virus was detected for the first time on the European continent, in Portugal, in 1957. From there the disease spread to Spain in 1960, which caused serious economic damage due to the prohibition of export pigs or derived products.
Currently genotype I of the African swine fever virus is endemic in Sardinia while unfortunately genotype II of the virus was introduced in 2007 in Georgia and from there it spread through the Caucasus region, affecting Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Estonia, Moldova, the Czech Republic and Romania.
The ministry of agriculture, fisheries and public food on February 22 a report on the situation of African swine fever in Central and Eastern Europe in which the countries affected by African swine fever are identified, among which Spain is not included.
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A vaccine against the dreaded swine fever by 2024
Spain leads the development of this vaccine to fight the disease that affects domestic pigs and wild boar. In a few years it will be possible to vaccinate animals.
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The African Swine Fever has arrived in Italy: the alarms go off in the Iberian Peninsula
The Ministry of Agriculture has already warned of the possibility of taking control measures in case there could be cases in the country.
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African swine fever (ASF) spreads across Europe among wild boars
New cases are added to those that have spread the dreaded disease through European countries, increasingly closer to Spain. And ranchers tremble before a threat that can ruin them.
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