According to a report by the EU’s Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) published on Monday, 3 June, the Ukrainian authorities are implementing the eradication programme for African swine fever “largely in compliance with planned arrangements”.
In this audit carried out in Ukraine, EU experts point out that the measures taken have stabilised the situation but that the current programme “has not yet demonstrated ability to eradicate the disease”.
The FVO notes that EU funding to Ukraine to combat this epizootic has helped strengthen laboratory capacity and increase the number of samples analysed for African swine fever virus. However, the competent authorities were not able to use the funds to finance the sampling of dead boars, “unless the authorities can find a way to pay a reward [to] individuals who find and notify [the authorities of] dead wild boars”, the report states.
Overall, the audit concluded that the eradication programme could be improved, notably with respect to early detection of cases affecting wild boars, data collection, and especially biosecurity standards. “Uncontrolled movements of pigs between backyard holdings are a common practice, which facilitates the spread of disease”, EU veterinarians worry. They also believe that eradication measures should be supported by more rigorous controls to ensure that potentially infected pigmeat does not cause new cases.
Ukraine is called upon to make progress in three key areas: prevention, early detection, and rapid response in the event of African swine fever outbreaks. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)