Rassegna Stampa

Of all the European countries that detected outbreaks of African Swine Fever in recent years, the Czech Republic has been the only one to actually eradicate the virus again. Strict control measures, strict biosecurity and a coordinated approach played a part in the successful eradication of the virus. Here is how that went.

The Czech Republic detected its first occurrence of African Swine Fever virus (ASFv) after passive surveillance that started in 2014. ASFv was detected in two wild boars, which were found dead on 21 and 22 June 2017 in the cadastral territory Příluky u Zlína, Zlín District, Zlín Region.

The National Reference Laboratory for ASF, the State Veterinary Institute Jihlava, confirmed the positive finding of ASFv on 26 June 2017. Since 15 April 2019 there were 230 cases of ASF registered in wild boar involving 212 cases of wild boar found dead and 18 cases of hunted wild boar.

The last ASF positive cases in wild boars were detected on 8 February 2018 in hunted wild boar and on 15 April 2018 in wild boar found dead – however, these carcasses were decomposed (three to six months old). All positive cases were detected in a small area (only 89 km2) in the Zlín District. In domestic pigs, no outbreak of ASF was detected in the Czech Republic. There are currently no positive cases of ASF within the territory of the Czech Republic.