FAQs - Frequently asked questions about ASP

African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease that affects domestic and wild pigs. It leads to serious health problems and often has a fatal outcome for infected animals.

No, African swine fever is not transmissible to humans and therefore poses no risk to human health.

The virus can be transmitted through direct contact between infected and healthy animals, through contaminated food, animal products, tools or clothing and through some types of ticks.

Symptoms can include high fever, loss of appetite, weakness, skin haemorrhages, vomiting, diarrhoea and breathing problems. Infected animals often die within a few days of the first symptoms appearing.

The diagnosis is usually made using laboratory tests that can detect the virus in blood or tissue samples.

There is currently no specific treatment or authorised vaccination against African swine fever. Control is therefore focussed on prevention and disease management.

Prevention measures include strict biosecurity measures in pig farms, the control and monitoring of wild boar, a ban on feeding kitchen waste to pigs and compliance with international transport and trade regulations.

Restricted zone I is the buffer zone around restricted zone II. It demarcates the infected area as a buffer zone to less affected areas and serves as a protective ring around the infection zone to prevent the spread of the disease to neighbouring areas. The main aim is to break infection chains, reduce the population density of wild pigs and carry out monitoring/recording measures.

Restricted zone II is the infected zone around officially confirmed ASF cases and is subject to stricter restrictions than restricted zone I. It can cover a radius of up to around 15 kilometres around the location where the ASF was found and in Waldeck-Frankenberg extends almost as far as the line of the protective fence that has already been erected.