African swine fever spreads farther as Finland weighs new restrictions

African swine fever has spread much farther than previously thought, according to Yle. A wild boar found dead in Pyhtää, about 40 kilometres from the current core area, tested positive for the disease last week.

The Finnish Food Authority, Ruokavirasto, confirmed the result on Friday. Terhi Laaksonen, head of the authority’s Department of Animal Health and Welfare, said the discovery had significantly changed the assessment of the situation.

“The infection appears to have spread farther than previously assumed. We can certainly no longer achieve rapid disease control that would allow us to eradicate the disease within a year,” Laaksonen said.

She said it was not yet possible to estimate how long eradicating the disease might take.

Searches for dead wild boar to begin

Searches for wild boar carcasses in Pyhtää will begin this week after the search teams have been trained. Similar searches have already continued for several days in Virolahti.

Marko Rågback, chairman of the Pyhtää Game Management Association, said his phone had been ringing constantly since the discovery. People are concerned about the impact on their livelihoods, while hunting is also an important hobby for many. Autumn hunts have been cancelled.

Hunters have already removed bait sites from the terrain over the weekend, as feeding wild animals is prohibited in the infection zone.

Infection zone expanded

The dead wild boar was found in Hirvikoski, Pyhtää, more than 10 kilometres north of a motorway running along the coast. The Finnish Food Authority expanded the infection zone on Friday to include Uusimaa and half of the Kymenlaakso region.

Laaksonen said the deaths of wild boar in Virolahti and Pyhtää were probably connected, although the Pyhtää animal appears to have died after the animals found dead in Virolahti. The timeline and connection will be examined through more detailed virus analysis.

“There is no reason to assume that they are separate cases,” Laaksonen said.

The previous infection zone contained only a few locations where pigs were kept. The expanded zone includes between 10 and 20 such locations, none of them large. The Finnish Food Authority contacted all of them on Friday about the restrictions.

Restrictions concerning domestic pigs and wild boar are considered the most important measures for controlling the disease. They cannot be lifted until Finland has regained disease-free status, Laaksonen said.

Other restrictions in the old infection zone, which includes Virolahti, Miehikkälä and Ylämaa in Lappeenranta, could be eased. Laaksonen did not provide details because preparations were still under way, with a decision expected on Tuesday.

The authority must balance eradicating the disease against the harm strict restrictions cause to people’s lives and livelihoods. Laaksonen said maintaining the same restrictions across such a large area might not be reasonable or cost-effective.