African swine fever core area expands west in Finland

Finland’s Food Authority is expanding the African swine fever core area 11 kilometres west in Miehikkälä and Virolahti after dead wild boars were found outside its boundary, Yle reports. The wider infection zone will not change.

Fifteen dead wild boars were found about two to three kilometres west of the core area, near the boundary between the two municipalities. Laboratory tests have confirmed African swine fever in seven of the animals; results for the others are pending. Finland has recorded 80 cases in total.

Food Authority unit director Sirpa Kiviruusu said searches were continuing around the carcasses. The authority estimates that the animals were part of a herd of about 20 boars, with five still to be found.

The authority and local volunteers are also searching the core area and the wider infection zone for dead boars and remains to establish how far the disease has spread. Kiviruusu said searches would continue for the foreseeable future and could carry on through winter. Snow may make tracks easier to follow, she said, but can also cover carcasses and bones.

The authority estimates that only a small number of wild boars remain in the core area. There may be a few dozen in its northeastern part and only isolated animals in the south.

The core area is land within the infection zone where restrictions are stricter. The authority plans to put up a temporary electric fence about 70 kilometres long, mostly along roads, to keep wild boars within the current core area. It intends to build the fence before the end of the year.