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- African swine fever (ASF) was first detected in Germany.
- The animal disease was confirmed in a dead wild boar near the Polish border. There is no danger to humans.
- Switzerland has not yet been affected. However, it is feared that this will also happen with us.
“The suspicion has unfortunately been confirmed,” German Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner told the media in Berlin. “African swine fever is harmless to humans.” Consumption of possibly contaminated meat does not pose any danger to humans. The epidemic is almost always fatal to pigs.
The corpse of the wild boar was found a few kilometers from the German-Polish border in the Spree-Neisse district. A chemical institute brought the final proof. This means that Germany is losing its “disease-free” status.
The fear of spread also in Switzerland
Germany could now threaten to ban pork exports to non-EU countries, for example Asia. Therefore, German farmers are very concerned about the economic impact.
So far there have been no cases in Switzerland. But here too, farmers are concerned and the federal government fears that sooner or later cases will inevitably arise. According to the Federal Office of Agriculture, there is the highest level of alert. Specifically, this means that all wild boars found dead, as well as kills of sick animals and wild animals, are screened for African swine fever as part of a national early detection program.
With fences against disease
The disease has spread across the continent from the east for years. In recent months it has been circulating mainly in Poland. In March, a wild boar that died from him was discovered just over ten kilometers from the border in Germany’s eastern neighbor.
The cause of the spread in Europe is suspected to be the illegal disposal of food waste containing the pathogen.
The German state of Brandenburg has already erected a 120-kilometer electrical security fence on the border. It is supposed to stop the wild boars. A fence was also built on the Saxon border.
