ASF discovered in domestic pigs in Italy
African swine fever (ASF) has been found in domestic pigs in Italy for the first time, delivering a major blow to the country’s pork sector.
Two cases were detected on a farm in Rome’s Lazio region last week. The infected pigs were culled immediately, along with seven others on the farm, as veterinary authorities prepare to slaughter all pigs within a 10-km radius of the site, an estimated 1,000 animals, according to Wanted in Rome.
The virus was discovered in wild boar in Rome in May, having jumped around 500km from an initial outbreak of ASF in wild boar in north-west Italy at the start of the year. Angelo Ferrari, the government’s special commissioner in charge of tackling ASF, has also ordered the culling of ‘at least’ 400 wild boar in the Lazio region, state broadcaster RAI reported.
But the discovery of ASF on a pig farm in Lazio, prompting the cull of 1,000 pigs locally to stem the spread, opens up a new problem.
Alistair Driver / Pig World
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