Every year the number of Polish pig farms reporting an infection with African Swine Fever (ASF) shows a peak in summer. The year 2023 is no exception. Until June this year, only 1 farm reported an outbreak, now in just 1 week, the count jumped to 8 farms.
Over the last week, 7 farms were reported as infected, bringing the total tally for 2023 at 8. Of the newly reported farms, 4 are located in Eastern Poland, closer to the border with Belarus. One particular farm in Lublin province had 1,779 pigs on-site, making it the largest infected property this year.
The total number of infected pig farms in Poland is now 484, measured from the first moment of infection in 2014. The years 2022 and 2023 still are relatively quiet years with “only” 14 and 8 outbreaks on farms respectively. In comparison: the year 2021 was a top year with 124 outbreaks reported in domestic pig herds, large and small.
That the ASF problems are not quite over yet can be seen in the number of wild boar cases in 2023 so far. Now 2023 is almost half-way, so far 1,813 ASF cases in wild boar have been reported. The majority of that occurred in south western Poland, around Wrocław in Lower Silesia province.
The original article has been updated with fresh data on June 28. Main change: the number of infected farms jumped from 6 to 8.