Pig producers have been warned to be mindful of biosecurity measures following the latest large outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) on a commercial pig farm in Poland.

Polish staff working on Irish units who travel home for holidays could unwittingly contract the ASF virus if they engage in leisure hunting or other country pursuits, IFA pigs chair Tom Hogan said.

“Herd owners should remind staff not to bring any meat products back to Ireland and ensure that they see out the recommended 72-hour quarantine before returning to the pig unit,” he said.

Wild boars are believed to be responsible for the continuing spread of ASF in Europe.

Ireland has no wild boar population and it is illegal to introduce them here.

The presence of the ASF virus on contaminated clothing or footwear or in contaminated meat is seen as the main risk of its spread to this country.

Depopulated

The 8,000-head pig farm located in northeastern Poland was depopulated over the past 10 days following veterinary confirmation of the disease. Carcases were transported to a rendering plant under veterinary and police control.

The farm is within an area already restricted due to ASF being confirmed in wild boars. Two ASF-positive wild boars were located about 20km from the farm in February 2019. ASF-positive wild boars were confirmed elsewhere in Poland last month.

It’s the third outbreak this year in a commercial herd in Poland.