ASF is rampant in Ukrainian pig farms! Veterinary services are counting on support from the West

ASF szaleje w chlewniach na Ukrainie! Służby weterynaryjne liczą na wsparcie z Zachodu

As reported by AgroPortal, 58 African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks have been officially registered in Ukraine. 18 of them are located on family farms and 13 on industrial pig farms, according to a report by the Ukrainian State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection. It was not specified which farms the remaining cases concern, nor in which locations the pig infections were detected, which would also be important for our pig producers.

The services do not provide information on how many pigs have been infected, or what actions have been taken to combat the epidemic, e.g. have pigs been culled and disposed of in confirmed outbreaks, have protection zones been designated, or have restrictions been introduced on the movement of animals? Regional services have been obliged to control the epizootic situation and combat the virus, but it is not very clear what these actions will consist of.

Complicated situation

However, the inspection predicts that the number of ASF outbreaks will increase in the fall, because the virus will be introduced into pigsties by people on their clothes and shoes after picking mushrooms in the forests, and through freshly collected feed. It therefore calls on pig producers to observe biosecurity.

-We have support from international organizations and Ukrainian associations to implement measures to reduce the risk of ASF spreading – assures Oleg Osiyan, deputy head of the state consumer service. However, he admits that the situation is complicated.

Wild boars under control?

According to the announcement, ASF prevention activities will include "implementation of veterinary and sanitary measures in forestry". This includes monitoring ASF among wild boars, detecting and removing dead animals.

According to Volodymyr Kusturov, second deputy head of the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, "the largest risk group is private households with pigs, as they make up the largest percentage of detected cases of the disease."