At a meeting of agriculture department heads in Berlin last week, the representative for one state hit hard by African swine fever (ASF) called for the German federal government to develop a long-term strategy to bring the disease under control.
This strategy must be comprehensive and cover the whole country, according to Daniel Köfer from the state government of Hesse.
He reported that, while initial measures to control the spread of ASF in the central German state had been successful, the emergence of new cases demonstrates the need for efforts to continue.
In particular, the official called for support from central government in the form of logistics to ensure the timely availability of resources, as well as the construction and maintenance of fencing along major highways and rest areas.
For Hesse, Köfer called for financial aid for a current project to extend fencing along the river Rhine, which aims to limit the movement of wild boar. Furthermore, he highlighted the need for pig producers located in ASF quarantine zones to receive compensation for their lost income, and called for a review of the restrictions applied to farms within 10 kilometers of a confirmed ASF outbreak.
Last but not least, the official urged the German authorities to fund vital research into the development of an effective ASF vaccine.
4 European states register new ASF outbreaks in backyard herds
Over the past week, the animal health agencies of Italy, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine have officially registered new outbreaks of ASF in their respective domestic swine populations.
After a brief hiatus, the virus has been detected again in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, according to a notification to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). The outbreak involved a backyard herd of 12 pigs. Further cases have also been identified in a small village herd in the northwestern province of Zhytomyr.
In Romania, animals have tested positive for the virus in four non-commercial herds, as well as among pig carcasses found in the public domain. Each of the outbreaks occurred in a different county, according to the latest WOAH report.
Meanwhile, five further outbreaks have been confirmed to WOAH by the Republic of Moldova. Each involving small numbers of animals in two districts in the Northern Region, these bring the nation’s total outbreaks since early December to seven.
In the first week of the year, presence of the ASF virus was confirmed in a single pig, which died at a farm in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna. This brought the Italian total of outbreaks among domestic animals over the past three years to 48.
Since the start of 2025, these four countries have together recorded a total of 16 ASF outbreaks in domestic pigs. This is according to the latest update of the Animal Disease Information System by the European Commission (EC). The system monitors developments in selected listed animal diseases in European Union member states and adjacent countries.
Rising ASF cases among Europe’s wild boar
During the period January 9-15, 383 outbreaks involving the wild population in 13 countries were registered through the EC’s system.
Highest number of new cases were confirmed by Poland (93), Germany (69), Bulgaria (63), Hungary (52) and Latvia (42). Further — but fewer— outbreaks were recorded for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine.
Furthermore, the authorities in the Balkans state of Montenegro have notified WOAH about the first cases of ASF in the country for 12 months. Two wild boar found dead at one location in the north of the country tested positive for ASF in the first days of 2025. The site was reported to be within 2 kilometers of the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In the Liberec region in the Czech Republic (Czechia), a further round of wild boar depopulation is set to start this week.
Overnight on four days a week in the northern region of Liberec, police marksmen will be reducing the wild boar population, which has reached what are reported to be excessive numbers, according to the state veterinary service. Safety of the public will be safeguarded during the campaign, which is scheduled to last until mid-February. Similar action is credited with eradicating ASF from another region of the country in 2017.
Outbreak confirmed at Hong Kong farm
Hong Kong’s veterinary authority has notified WOAH that pigs at a farm in the New Territories tested positive for the ASF virus this month.
Of the 4,000 animals at the premises in the Yuen Long district, three were reported to have died. Nearby farms were under inspection for signs of infection.
In this Special Administrative Region of China, 10 outbreaks of ASF in domestic pigs were registered with WOAH between October 2023 and January 2024. Directly impacted were more than 17,000 animals, most of which were destroyed. All but one of the farms affected were in Yuen Long.
In November 2024, routine surveillance revealed ASF infection in one wild pig in another district of the New Territories.
ASF developments elsewhere in Asia
In the Philippines, the latest update from the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Industry (January 10) points to a general easing in the ASF situation compared with December 27.
Three regions no longer have ongoing outbreaks, although this still leaves eight with active cases. Five of these regions are on the island of Luzon, two in the Visayas islands, and one on Mindanao. Worst affected province in terms of communities affected by ASF — 72 — is North Cotabato, which is part of the Soccsksargan region on Mindanao.
Domestic pork production has been curtailed by the ASF outbreaks, and demand for the meat was strong over the Christmas period. As a result, pig meat prices are exceptionally high, reported the official Philippine News Agency last week.
Market prices in the capital, Manila, are up to PHP450 (US$7.70) per kilo, but the agriculture secretary assured local people that the pork supply could recover within the next three weeks.
A recent resurgence of ASF has been reported in the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak. The two adjacent states are part of Eastern Malaysia on the island of Borneo.
Last week, The Borneo Post reported that the authorities in Sarawak have suspended movements of pigs and pork from Sabah. Despite this measure, there will be sufficient supplies of pig meat for the upcoming Lunar New Year festival, according to a senior local official.
Over the past week, three more wild boar have tested positive for the ASF virus in South Korea, reports Pig People.
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