More surveillance and control against African swine fever

African swine fever (ASF) arrived in Europe in 2014 through Georgia, opening a trickle of cases in several countries, especially in the east of the continent. Now, in 2022, the situation has become especially worrying for Spanish farmers due to the proximity of this disease. Only 800 kilometers divide Catalonia from the Italian region of Piedmont, where different sources of ASF have been found in the last month. The situation has already put the industry on alert, which fears that it will reach the country. A single positive case could cause countries outside the European Union to ban the import of pork products from the entire country.

Faced with this threat and considering its proximity to Italy, Catalonia has intensified surveillance, controls, and biosecurity measures in pig farms in recent weeks. Since January 1, 2021, the Catalan Government has carried out 33,432 blood tests and 29,088 PCR tests on domestic pigs, in addition to analyzing the bodies of 26 wild boars found dead for reasons unrelated to an accident. All with negative results, according to data provided by the Commission of Experts on Wild Fauna set up to prevent this disease.

This group of professionals, whose function is to generate prevention strategies and specify actions in the field of wildlife, in recent weeks has also reviewed the actions carried out in previous years. They have proposed new strategies due to the evolution of the disease in Europe, in addition to proposing an adaptation of the Contingency Plan against ASF. They have also raised possible future scenarios in Catalonia.

Outside of Spain, France has already taken action against ASF and has launched an action plan involving public and private institutions.