African swine fever found in 52 wild boars as searches continue

African swine fever has been detected in 52 wild boars in Finland, and field searches are continuing despite disputes over delayed payments to some volunteers, Yle reported.

The latest cases were identified this week in wild boar remains found in Virolahti, about 15 kilometres outside the disease’s core zone. The remains were bones.

Volunteers are searching for wild boars in the infected zone and the core zone. The Finnish Food Authority says searches will not expand into the additional restriction zone, including Kouvola. The disease has been found in Virolahti, Pyhtää, Miehikkälä and Lappeenranta, but has not spread to pig farms in Finland.

The authority says volunteers took part in searches as usual this week and that all planned searches were completed. Some volunteers had threatened to stop working because payments were overdue. The authority’s unit head, Sirpa Kiviruusu, said the number of dissatisfied volunteers was small.

The authority has promised to pay volunteers 30 euros an hour. Administrative director Raimo Pyysalo said payment delays stemmed from discrepancies in invoices, including differences between the hours volunteers billed and the hours the authority ordered. Kiviruusu said 14 invoices were awaiting payment on Tuesday, followed by another 60 to 70 the next day. More than 1,000 volunteer searchers are registered with the authority, though not all have submitted invoices.

The authority is working to prevent the disease from spreading, including by planning a fence around the core zone. Wild boars are also being hunted in the affected area under the authority’s direction.