February 14, 2014 is a memorable date in the history of Polish agriculture. It was then that the first case of African swine fever was confirmed in Poland. After a decade, we still have not controlled the problem, and ASF has drastically changed Polish pig production.
For most people, February 14 is clearly associated with Valentine’s Day. However, for people involved in the pig industry, this is a much less pleasant date. Let us remind you: on February 14, 2014, the first outbreak of ASF was confirmed in Poland. The beginnings of the epizootic were inconspicuous and at that time few expected how the disease would develop within a decade and how it would change pig production in Poland.
Step by step, ASF flooded (almost) all of Poland
But one by one: the first outbreak of ASF in wild boars was confirmed in the town of Grzybowszczyzna in the Sokółka district, right next to the border with Belarus. A few months later – in July 2014, the first outbreak was confirmed in a herd of pigs in the Białystok district.
The first two years of the epizootic were a time of relative peace. At that time, only three outbreaks were confirmed in pig herds, and the disease was circulating in the wild boar population in several communes of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. And these were not alarming numbers: in 2014 and 2015, 30 and 53 ASF outbreaks in wild boars were confirmed, respectively.
The first of many breakthrough moments was the summer of 2016, when the disease spread over a larger area for the first time: outbreaks of swine fever were confirmed in the western part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship (Zambrowski and Wysokie Mazowiecki counties), and on the border of the Podlaskie Voivodeships (Hajnówka and Siemiatycze counties). ), Masovia (Łosice County) and Lublin County (Biała County). Unfortunately, later it only got worse.
With each subsequent year, the epizootic spread to other areas of the country. Thus, in 2017 it attacked the areas around the Warsaw agglomeration, in 2018 it attacked the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and in the fall of 2019, perhaps the most breakthrough moment in the entire history of the plague occurred. Then ASF covered a distance of several hundred kilometers and appeared in western Poland. This was the beginning of the development of the disease not only in the Lubusz, Greater Poland and Lower Silesian voivodeships, but also the flashpoint of ASF in Germany.
ASF in numbers
There were many other breakthrough moments (we partially include them in the above calendar), but it is impossible to discuss each of them separately in a short text. However, it is worth taking a closer look at the current state. Today, we have 14 voivodeships in which ASF in wild boars has appeared, and 12 voivodeships that are struggling (or have been struggling) with ASF in pigs. Over the past 10 years, 532 ASF outbreaks in pigs and 18,209 ASF outbreaks in wild boars were confirmed in the country. Exactly 177,305 pigs died or were slaughtered in swine ASF outbreaks.
How much did ASF cost us?
However, the last number mentioned is only the tip of the iceberg. The losses caused by ASF over the decade cannot be estimated. They consist of a huge number of factors, ranging from direct losses related to the slaughter of animals and the payment of compensation, through lower purchase prices of fattened pigs in ASF zones, losses related to the loss of export markets, and ending with the loss of production potential. I think the last of these factors is particularly painful. The numbers themselves are alarming. Of approximately 250 thousand There are approximately 50,000 pig farms left in 2014. Of course, this does not have a direct impact on the pig population (because production concentration increased), but ASF forced higher imports of weaners to Poland, not to mention the import of pork.
Light in the tunnel?
What will the future bring? The experience of the past decade shows that without an effective vaccine we have no chance of controlling the plague in the wild boar population. Without this, we will never rule out the risk of infections in pig herds. Hope appeared in recent months, when field tests of a preparation began in Hungary, which in clinical trials showed effectiveness in protecting wild boars against ASF. If its effectiveness was confirmed by field tests, it would certainly be a breakthrough and perhaps the beginning of the end of Europe’s fight against ASF. We hope that we won’t have to wait another decade for this.
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