According to a report by the EU’s Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) published on Tuesday 30 April, the EU has revealed flaws in the measures implemented in Romania to combat outbreaks of African swine fever, especially during the movement of animals.
This audit was carried out in response to the rapid spread of African swine fever during the summer of 2018 in the south-eastern part of Romania. Cases were first identified in wild boars and then spread rapidly within the domestic pig population.
The experts evaluated measures to detect African swine fever and to prevent the spread of the disease. In addition, the audit evaluated the effectiveness of the official control over disease control measures, traceability of live pigs and the placing on the market of pig meat and products.
The veterinary authorities have taken effective measures to investigate suspected cases and to apply controls when there were outbreaks in domestic pigs and wild boar. “An increasing number of surveillance samples are being collected, which increases the likelihood that the disease will be detected at an early stage”, notes the FVO.
A major challenge for veterinarians. It indicates that the new biosecurity rules for domestic pig holdings and the recently introduced national plan for the eradication of African swine fever in wild boar “have the potential to reduce the risk of further disease spread”. However, with more than 600,000 non-commercial holdings in Romania, the veterinary authorities face a major challenge, experts note.
They report that live pigs and their products originating from the non-commercial pig sector circulate on the national market. However, “insufficient measures have been taken to regulate these movements and to trace live animals or products that may have carried the virus from infected areas”, the report states.
The FVO considers that the veterinary authorities in Romania are controlling the outbreak in domestic pigs. However, the lack of effective traceability and biosecurity precautions for live pigs and products of animal origin moving between non-commercial holdings “means that they are unable to contain the disease within infected areas”.
Threat to the domestic pork production. The continued circulation of African swine fever virus in the wild boar population "presents a continued threat to the domestic pig production in the country", reports the FVO. The competent authorities must strictly apply pig identification and biosecurity requirements within high risk areas. “Otherwise, the risk of reappearance of the disease is high and the future viability of pig production is uncertain”, the experts conclude. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)