A further seven cases of African swine fever (ASF) have been confirmed in wild boars in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, the German Federal Ministry of Agriculture confirmed this today.
The new discoveries bring the total number of confirmed cases to 20 since the first one on September 10. All were found close to the first wild boar that was found, with no farm animals affected.
The German scientific institute Friedrich-Loeffler had confirmed that the last seven animals had ASP, the ministry said.
China and a range of other pork buyers have banned imports of German pork in recent days after the first case was confirmed.
The disease is not dangerous to humans, but it is deadly for pigs and a massive outbreak in China, the largest pig producer in the world, has resulted in hundreds of millions of pigs being slaughtered.
The ministry had warned on Thursday that more cases of wild boars are to be expected if the animals move in groups and the disease is easily transmissible.
Prices for breeding pigs (suckling pigs) in Germany have fallen sharply in recent weeks following the discovery of ASF in the country, traders said on Monday.
Measures
We learn from a good source that a new grid is being placed with a circumference of 58 KM around the place where the first case was found, hoping that the perimeter will remain limited.
Furthermore, there will be an intensive search in the area with search dogs to eliminate affected boars. Helicopters and drones are also used to track down infected boars. place where the first case was found, hoping that the perimeter remains limited.
