European Commission, Sardinia has eradicated African swine fever

Brussels –The European Commission has recognized Sardinia and Sweden as free of African swine fever (ASF) by a revision of the European regionalization scheme adopted yesterday.

African swine fever is a severe infectious disease of domestic and wild pigs. There is no vaccine, and it is not transmissible to humans or other species. It is transmitted by direct contact with infected livestock or by spreading contaminated raw food.

For Sardinia, it is the closure of an epidemic that began in 1978 and spread to domestic herds and wild boars until 2019. However, cases remain in Italy, including in Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Latium, Campania, and Calabria.

Eliminating the disease on the island was made possible by a rigorous eradication and control program, which involved collaboration between EU and national and regional experts. Among the proposed actions were those of wild boar and domestic swine control and the training of specialized operators. After the brief outbreak in August–September 2023, even Sweden implemented the measures suggested by EUVET, the EU’s veterinary emergency team, which yielded effective results.

“The eradication of African swine fever in Sardinia and Sweden is an Italian, Swedish, and European success for national authorities and industry stakeholders across Europe,” commented Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides, “but the fight against the disease remains an urgent and pressing challenge in many parts of the EU.”

In this regard, Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry of Italy, expressed satisfaction with the Italian result. In addition, he reiterated the joint effort of Italy and Germany to slow the spread of swine fever (and of bluetongue), which will take the form of a “plan that in technical terms will be discussed bilaterally by Italy and Germany, to present a joint document in one of the next meetings of the EU Agrifish Council.”