African swine fever outbreaks, mainly in wild boars, have continued in central and eastern Europe. Mongolia has recorded new cases of classical swine fever (CSF), while African swine fever (ASF) is reported to have returned to Uganda and Malawi.
Swine fever outbreaks in Europe
Estonia and Latvia had the rankings as the European countries most affected by new outbreaks on African swine fever, based on reports from their respective veterinary authorities to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Since the start of December 2015, there have been 255 outbreaks affecting 423 wild boar in Estonia, and in Latvia, 229 animals have died or been destroyed in 178 recorded outbreaks. All of the animals affected are wild boar in regions where the disease is known to be present.
Less affected have been Lithuania and Poland, where 25 and 6 wild boar, respectively have tested positive for the virus over the last 7 weeks.
Further to the east, African swine fever has been confirmed in domestic pigs. Ukraine has reported to the OIE four recent outbreaks in village or backyard herds in Poltava in the center of the country and in Nikolayev in the south. In all, 46 animals died or were destroyed as a result. In Russia, 147 backyard pigs in the regions of Ryazan and Bryansk oblasts were affected as well as seven wild boars in separate outbreaks in the oblasts of Kaluga, Saratov and Moscow.
Russia has also reported detecting classical swine fever in one wild boar in Primorsky Krai in the far west of the country. This is the first reported case since September 2015.
The same disease was reported in Latvia in October 2012. Since a program of wild boar vaccination was put in place in the affected area, there have been no positive cases of the disease since March 2015.
Last week, the European Union committed close to EUR161 million (US$175.6 million) to support eradication, control and surveillance programs that aim to eliminate animal diseases and zoonoses as well as further strengthen the protection of human and animal health. Of the many programs selected for funding are those against African swine fever and classical swine fever.
Mongolia reports classical swine fever
The agriculture ministry has this week reported the return of classical swine fever to the country after an absence of about 8 months. In October and November of 2015, there were three confirmed outbreaks among domestic pigs in the regions of Dornod and Tuv, which led to the death of 38 pigs and the destruction of a further 376. The source of infection in unknown.
ASF outbreaks reported in Uganda, Malawi
African swine fever appears to have returned to Uganda, with new outbreaks reported in the last week. The Daily Monitor reported an outbreak in Lungujja parish of Kampala, affecting an unspecified number of animals. Officials were calling on farmers to avoid moving their pigs between different areas. This was the first recorded outbreak of the disease since July of 2015, when dozens of farmers in Masaka district lost animals to the disease.
Earlier this week, it was reported by Daily Monitor that African swine fever is spreading rapidly in the towns of Mbarara Municipality, where it has killed more than 500 pigs since July last year.
An outbreak of African swine fever has hit Nsanje district in Malawi, with more than 100 pigs killed by the disease, according to the official Malawi News Agency. The local District Agricultural Development Officer said the infection is suspected to have originated in neighboring Mozambique.
