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The Minister of Agriculture, Julia Klöckner, has confirmed the first case of African swine fever in Germany. The disease was found in a dead wild boar in Brandenburg, near the German-Polish border. The Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, which clears suspected cases as a national reference laboratory, provided the final proof.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture had previously announced an official suspicious case in Brandenburg. An expert from the Friedrich Loeffler Institute said it should now be examined how much swine fever has already spread in Germany. The animal found had already become very rotten. The infected area must be quickly identified and then delimited.
African swine fever is highly contagious to domestic pigs and wild boars and is often fatal. For humans, however, the animal disease is harmless. Consuming contaminated meat is also harmless, Klöckner said.
The disease is feared among pig farmers. Germany is one of the largest exporters of pork in Europe. The country thus loses its “disease-free” status. Pork export bans to non-EU countries may now threaten. China and other Asian countries often impose bans on the import of meat from regions where the disease has been detected. Klöckner said there were already contacts with China due to swine fever. He did not provide further details.
A spread of the animal disease to Germany has long been feared. It has also been circulating in western Poland for months. In March, a wild boar killed by swine fever was discovered in the neighboring country just over ten kilometers from the border with Germany. In the current case, a connection to a town just 30 kilometers away in western Poland is suspected. Klöckner said that Germany had long been spared from the disease. She emphasized: “We are prepared.” The requirements of the national swine fever regulation went into effect. Your ministry will also establish a crisis team and provide information on animal disease in affected areas and on the Internet.
Local authorities are responsible for crisis management. If swine fever is found in a wild boar, according to the Federal Ministry, a “district in danger” is defined and a buffer zone is established. In that case, domestic pigs and pork, with some exceptions, cannot be removed from these areas. It is important to define a restriction area so that not all animal owners across Germany have to live with restrictions due to a find in a district, Klöckner said.
The Minister of Agriculture announced a catalog of possible measures to stop the spread of the disease. This includes the ability to restrict passenger and vehicle traffic in affected areas and to cordon off areas. Klöckner said that African swine fever not only crosses national borders on all fours, but often on wheels as well.
