According to the Polish Chief Veterinary Inspectorate, this marks the third farm outbreak in Pomerania province — the first two occurred in 2024. Given that most of this year’s ASF infections in wild boar have been detected in the Gdańsk region, the emergence of a farm outbreak in this area was not unexpected.
Since ASF first entered Poland in 2014, the country has experienced an annual summer spike in infections. Experts link this seasonal surge to the transportation of hay and straw, which can carry virus-contaminated particles (fomites), posing a serious biosecurity risk on pig farms.
As of now, 2,322 cases of ASF in wild boar have been reported across Poland in 2025. In previous years, the total annual number of infected wild boar typically ranges between 3,000 and 4,000.
This year’s farm outbreak occurred relatively late compared to previous years, when cases usually began appearing in early June. In 2024, Poland recorded 44 ASF outbreaks in pig farms. The worst year to date was 2021, when 124 farms were affected. In total, this is the 553rd recorded farm outbreak since 2014 — including both commercial operations and small backyard farms.
In the context of over a decade of ASF outbreaks, the affected farm's size — 1,311 pigs — is not unusually large. Since 2014, 35 Polish farms with even larger herds have been infected. The largest known infected farm in the country housed 23,631 pigs.
Given the ongoing spread among wild boar and the seasonal pattern of outbreaks, Polish authorities are maintaining heightened surveillance and urging farmers to reinforce biosecurity protocols. The summer months remain the highest-risk period for ASF transmission in Poland, making continuous vigilance essential to preventing further spread within domestic pig populations.
pigprogress.net