Nine Years of African Swine Fever in Poland

Abstract

Background: African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and fatal haemorrhagicdisease in domestic pigs and wild boars, causing significant economic loss to the swine industry in theEuropean Union. The genotype II of African swine fever has spread in many European countries sincethe virus was detected in 2007 in Georgia. In Poland, the genotype II of the ASF virus was confirmedon 17 February 2014 in the eastern part of the country and appeared to have been transmitted toPoland from Belarus. Poland has been particularly affected by ASF epidemics in the last decade,resulting in a significant decline in the Polish pig population. Wild boars are the main reservoir ofthe African swine fever virus (ASFV), but human activities such as transportation and illegal animaltrade are the primary reasons for the long-distance transmission of the disease. (2) Conclusions:During the nine years of ASF in Poland, multiple measures have been taken to prevent the spread ofthe virus among the wild boar population via the passive and active surveillance of these animals.With regard to pig farms, the only effective measure for preventing the spread of ASF is the efficientenforcement by state authorities of the biosecurity standards and the farmers’ compliance with them