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The African swine fever virus (ASF) has been confirmed in two further domestic pig herds in the southern district of Groß-Gerau. The farms had 17 and 170 pigs in their herds according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Due to the current situation following the ASF outbreak, authorities are requiring all pig farms in the region to check their herds daily for signs of disease and to report these immediately to the district veterinary office. One dead animal was reported in the smaller herd. On the larger farm, the owner noticed that some of his animals were noticeably weak and were increasingly trying to cool themselves, suggesting a fever. The district veterinary office immediately took samples, which were confirmed positive by the state laboratory that evening. Both herds of pigs had to be culled for disease control reasons.
The outbreak is concentrated in the southern district of Groß-Gerau.
The repeated outbreaks in domestic pig herds are highly concentrated regionally and illustrate the enormously high viral load in the Knoblochsaue and Kühkopf area. The high viral load was predicted by the EU veterinary mission, which visited Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate two weeks ago to assess the crisis work on the ground. However, it also shows that the authorities have had success in preventing the spread to neighboring regions so far. This is why it is so important that the entire population adheres to the current restrictions to limit the spread of the disease as regionally as possible in the future.
On the one hand, this applies to citizens who are called upon to stay off paths in open areas and to keep their dogs on a lead. On the other hand, it also applies to farmers, who must ensure that their fields and farmland are free of live and dead wild boar before using machinery and must obtain approval for their work from the relevant veterinary authorities. All pig farms must comply with the strictest biosecurity measures and continually monitor their herds.
July 23, 2024/ Agriculture - Hesse/ Germany.
https://landwirtschaft.hessen.de
