The African swine fever, feared by farmers, is spreading further in the east. After more than 100 cases have already been detected in Brandenburg, the experts are now determining the disease in an animal in Saxony. The district and the armed forces take action.
After Brandenburg, a case of African swine fever has now also been detected in Saxony. The animal disease, which is harmless to humans, has been confirmed in a wild boar shot in the district of Görlitz, as the Saxon Ministry of Social Affairs announced. The animal was shot on October 27th and samples were taken two days later at the state investigation center. The Friedrich Loeffler Institute also confirmed the infection.
A crisis team of the Ministry of Social Affairs and the State Animal Disease Control Center are currently being set up. The establishment of the restriction zones is being prepared in consultation with the district and the Bundeswehr. "I appeal to the pig farmers not to let up in their efforts to protect the domestic pigs and to consistently pursue biosecurity measures," said Saxony's Minister of Social Affairs, Petra Köpping.
The first nationwide occurrence of the disease in wild boar was reported on September 10, only around 50 kilometers away from the Saxon border in Brandenburg. There are now more than 100 cases of wild boar official. The state is trying to get the epidemic under control with fences, search dogs and drones. The animals usually die within a few days.
The animal disease is harmless to humans. However, a proven epidemic has serious consequences for the pig farms, because the disease is almost always fatal for pigs. A leap to fattening stock has been prevented so far. More than 3000 farmers keep around 669,000 pigs in Saxony.
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