After the discovery at the end of May of the first case of African swine fever in the far west of Germany, near the French border, France has taken extra precautionary measures.
Investigations into infected wild boars in areas of the eastern part of the country have been expanded. Since the discovery, French authorities are now taking into account "the epidemiological situation in Western Germany."
An increased state of surveillance (‘phase 2B’) for nature monitoring has been applied this week in 14 municipalities in the northeastern French regions of Bas-Rhin in Grand Est.
This heightened nature monitoring has been in place since earlier this year along the southern French coastal provinces of the Côte d’Azur, following the discovery of ASF cases in northern Italy. This level of supervision has also been in place longer along the border with Belgium, across parts of the departments Ardennes, Meurthe-et-Moselle, and Meuse.
Spain has also seized the ASF outbreak at the German-French border to urge domestic farms to be more cautious. Again, the urgent need is emphasized to comply with biosecurity measures in pig farms and animal transports.
The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture also highlighted the importance of disinfection, for example during the transport of animals, and published a list of approved disinfectants effective against ASF.