According to information reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the outbreak was detected on 31 December 2025 at a farm with 7,322 pigs in Somogyszob, southwestern Hungary. The disease was confirmed in 65 animals, which showed clinical signs of the viral infection, including increased piglet mortality and abortions.
The Hungarian reference laboratory officially confirmed the outbreak on 6 January. The last isolated case of Aujeszky’s disease in Hungary had been recorded in November 2021.
Infection at multiple farm sites
The Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture reported that the virus was also detected at two additional production sites belonging to the same farm, located in the same Somogy county near the border with Croatia. At the same time, no virus was detected at the fourth site of the farm. All farm locations were placed under lockdown, and animal movements were prohibited.
Hungary has officially been free of Aujeszky’s disease since 2015, and strict protocols are applied to maintain this status. Pigs at the infected farms are being culled, while all holdings within a 2 km radius are subject to intensified veterinary surveillance. A ban on animal transport has also been imposed.
Aujeszky’s disease: controlled but dangerous
Aujeszky’s disease is a notifiable disease. Infected animals may show symptoms such as fever, shivering, nervous signs and drooling. In piglets, mortality can reach up to 100%.
Pigs (including wild boar) are the only animals capable of transmitting the virus. Other species may become infected but do not spread the disease. At the end of 2025, infections with the Aujeszky’s disease virus were also detected in central France among wild boar kept in captivity.
Reaction of other EU countries
In response to the outbreak, veterinary authorities in several European countries, including the Netherlands, have urged livestock transporters to step up the cleaning and disinfection of vehicles returning from Hungary after transporting cloven-hoofed animals.
Experts stress that the situation in Hungary is yet another reminder for Europe’s pig sector of the importance of strict biosecurity, movement control and readiness for rapid response, even in countries with an officially disease-free status.
PigUA.info, based on materials from pigprogress.net