The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) have confirmed that a wild boar found in northern Greece had contracted African swine fever.
Measures to prevent and control spreading of the disease have been announced in a statement from the Greek agricultural ministry following the discovery of the contaminated dead wild boar in the Serres region of the country, according to Reuters. This is the first case of African swine fever in Greece since 2020 when the first ever cases of the disease were detected.
Although the disease does not carry risk to humans, it is highly contagious and often fatal for pigs. WOAH said that African swine fever has been the cause of major disruption to the industry, causing significant financial and environmental consequences.
With no vaccine currently available, the crisis caused by the disease is ongoing and WOAH are working with the global industry to prevent and control it. Disruption in recent years followed outbreaks in Asia and Europe, with the spread across Europe reading from the east across to Germany and Italy.