Baden-Württemberg: swine fever outbreak in the district of Emmendingen

Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - African swine fever broke out on a farm in the Emmendingen district.

Baden-Württemberg: swine fever outbreak in the district of Emmendingen

Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - African swine fever broke out on a farm in the Emmendingen district. This was announced by the Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday in Stuttgart. "It was a matter of time before swine fever reached Baden-Württemberg," said a spokeswoman for the authorities. The state government has prepared intensively for a possible outbreak in recent years, and necessary measures have been initiated on site. "So far there is no evidence that the outbreak has spread to wild boar."

African swine fever is a severe viral infection that only affects wild boar and domestic pigs. It is almost always fatal and incurable. The disease is not contagious to humans or other animal species. First it had spread in Eastern Europe. In 2019, sick wild boar were also found in Germany. Serious economic damage is feared if the disease is introduced into breeding farms. The animal disease was first registered in a pig fattening farm in Germany in mid-July last year.