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.

A number of measures have been taken to contain the spread of African swine fever:

• Erecting fences to make it more difficult for wild boar to move on or to prevent them from doing so
• Definition of exclusion zones
• Search for wild boar carcasses using drones and carcass search dogs
• Definition of measures for agriculture, forestry and hunting
• Increased biosecurity measures in domestic pig holdings

All applicable measures to prevent the spread of African swine fever are laid down in the general rulings for the restricted zones.

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.

Pork can still be consumed even if African swine fever (ASF) has occurred in a region. Domestic pigs from affected areas are closely monitored and only authorised for slaughter if they are virus-free.

In order to prevent the introduction of ASF into domestic pig herds and to minimise the risk of the disease spreading via wild boars, the help of the population is required. Please note the following points:

Travellers returning - be careful with sausage products: Do not bring any pork products from countries or regions affected by ASF.

Do not dispose of food scraps in nature: Do not carelessly throw away any sausage or meat scraps (including sandwiches), but only in sealed rubbish containers. The virus is extremely resistant and survives for a long time in smoked products, sausage and raw meat.

Report dead wild boar: If you find a dead wild boar, do not touch it! Report the find to the veterinary office immediately.

Special caution for hunters and forest workers: After contact with wild boar or after visiting affected areas (e.g. Eastern Europe), clothing, equipment and vehicles must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.

Hobby pig farmers: Secure your herds against direct contact with wild boar (e.g. by double fencing) and do not feed any leftovers.

Please do not approach wild boar carcasses and do not touch them. If you find one, please inform the veterinary office immediately.

In these cases, please contact the veterinary office.

Cycling, horse riding and pedestrian traffic (e.g. mushroom picking, geocaching) is only permitted in the forest area on paved forest paths or marked cycling, riding and hiking trails in order to prevent wild boars from being disturbed and driven away or the virus from being spread unintentionally via contaminated footwear, etc. For this reason, dogs must also be kept on a lead outside built-up areas. The only exceptions are for hunting, herding, assistance and rescue dogs during deployment and training. Gates must always be closed immediately when crossing the protective fence.

The steps that must be taken when African swine fever occurs are subject to epidemiological guidelines that have been developed by experts across Europe. Experience in other regions shows that the disease can only be considered contained after two years without any findings. Of course, the veterinary office is constantly checking whether the requirements are still proportionate.