Germany Discovers First Cases of African Swine Fever in Farm Pigs
The first cases of African swine fever (ASF) have been confirmed in farm pigs in Germany, the country's federal agriculture ministry said on July 16.
The disease was confirmed in pigs on two farms in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, Reuters reports.
Previous cases of the deadly virus of pigs have only been found in wild pigs. Approximately 1,267 cases of ASF have been discovered so far in wild pigs in the Brandenburg area, which is on the border with Poland, where the disease is widespread.
In September 2020, China and other pork buyers banned imports of German pork after the first case was confirmed in wild boars. Import bans by China and major Asian importers have continued.
The ASF cases were confirmed by Germany's Friedrich-Loeffler scientific institute, Reuters reports. The sick pigs were discovered on one organic farm with 200 animals and on a small farm with only two pigs, the Brandenburg health ministry said. All pigs were slaughtered in an effort to keep the disease from infecting other domesticated pigs.
Germany constructed fences along the Polish border to prevent wild boars from entering Germany. In addition, six zones were established with intensified hunting of wild boars, the article said.
Germany's regionalization concept will allow the country's pork exports inside the European Union (EU) to continue.
ASF Cases Will Complicate Trade Talks
Negotiations about lifting existing import bans with China and other major buyers more difficult, but no major impact on the German pork market is immediately expected, Reuters reports. German pork exports are already facing bans from many importers outside the EU.
“The discovery of ASF on a German farm does not really change the overall situation much with import bans already in place by China and other importers,” Justin Sherrard, Global Strategist Animal Protein at Rabobank, told Reuters. “They cannot restrict trade further which is already stopped.”
A German meat analyst said this could perhaps make negotiations with importers like China over the regionalization concept more difficult and import bans may be expected to remain in force for the foreseeable future, Reuters reports.
ASF is a deadly virus of pigs, but does not pose any food safety or health risks to humans.
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