Spain: Two cases of ASF found in wild boars in Bellaterra (Barcelona)
African swine fever (ASF) is a disease that affects only animals - pigs and wild boars - so it is always a matter of animal health and never of food safety or human health, since it cannot be transmitted to other animal species or to people.
The Interprofessional Association of White Pigs (INTERPORC) is working with the rest of the sector and national and regional authorities to assess the scope of these cases, which by protocol entail the creation of a surveillance zone within a 20-kilometer radius, whose farms will have their operational and commercial work restricted.
The fact that two cases have been detected early in wild boars highlights the outstanding level of surveillance and control of animal health in Spain - a global benchmark - as well as the good coordination between the different administrations, which have activated the corresponding Contingency Plan.
Alongside this robust surveillance system, pig farms in Spain comply with rigorous biosecurity plans governed by strict legislation that exhaustively specifies the requirements that pig farms must meet to carry out their livestock activity and guarantee safe food production.
INTERPORC highlights that controls in Spain had been intensified in recent years as African swine fever (ASF) spread to neighboring European Union countries, which allowed for the rapid detection of these two cases. The Interprofessional Organization emphasizes that the greatest guarantee for the sector and the public is the professionalism of livestock farmers and veterinarians, along with the rigorous biosecurity and animal health model, which makes Spain an international benchmark in animal health.
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