Finland tightens controls in African swine fever zone

Finland’s Food Authority will tighten restrictions in the infection zone established in Kymenlaakso after African swine fever was detected in wild boar, state broadcaster Yle reports.

The virus was confirmed in dead wild boar piglets found in Virolahden. The infection zone covers the entire municipalities of Virolahti and Miehikkälä, as well as part of southern Lappeenranta.

Hunting is already banned in the zone to prevent wild boar from fleeing and spreading the disease. New measures, effective today, will create a core area with a 3 km radius around the discovery site. In this core area, all forest work, berry and mushroom picking, and other off-road movement will be prohibited. Dog walking will also be banned in the core area and restricted to leashed walks along roads elsewhere in the zone.

Use of feed, grain, or bedding collected from the area for pigs is prohibited. Agricultural machinery may only be moved out of the zone after washing and disinfection.

Preliminary tests confirmed the disease on Thursday, with final verification pending from the EU reference laboratory in Spain. This is the first detection of African swine fever in Finland. The disease does not infect humans but is highly lethal to pigs, with no vaccine or treatment available.

The virus can spread through meat products, contaminated objects, or even clothing.