African swine fever: A major threat to the pig industry

Summary:

Since it made its first appearance on the African continent in the 1920s, African swine fever has spread worldwide, causing significant economic losses and trade disruptions, as well as raising severe concerns for pig health and welfare. The disease can result in death rates of up to 100 % in affected farms and there is currently no cure. It does not, however, pose a danger to human health. The years 2022 to 2023 saw a major upsurge in cases of the disease worldwide, affecting EU regions but also countries that had never faced this problem before. The European Commission has taken a series of measures to prevent the spread of the disease, while also adopting strict regulations and specific control measures. As all animals hosted on an affected farm must be destroyed, this leads to a significant economic loss for the countries concerned. Nevertheless, some of them have been able to share success stories of eradication. The European Parliament has questioned the European Commission on several occasions and looked at the issue from different perspectives in the search for solutions.

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