Greece detects African swine fever in a wild boar

Send a link to a friend  Share

[January 23, 2023]  PARIS (Reuters) - Greece has detected African swine fever in a wild boar in the north of the country, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Monday.

The disease, harmless to humans but highly contagious among pigs, was found in a dead wild boar in a forest in the Serres region, which borders Bulgaria and North Macedonia, WOAH said, citing a report from the Greek authorities.

WOAH said the case was the first since early 2020, when Greece faced its first-ever outbreak of African swine fever.

[to top of second column]

Greece's agriculture ministry also announced the new outbreak in a statement, saying measures were being taken to avert the spread of the disease.

African swine fever is often deadly for pigs and has disrupted pork production and trade in recent years after outbreaks among farm herds in Asia and Europe.

In Europe, the disease has spread from the east of the continent to reach countries including Germany and Italy.

(Reporting by Gus Trompiz and Renee Maltezou, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.

Back to top