Greece detects African swine fever in a wild boar

[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.

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)

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