ASF Greece: Virus emerges in wild boar population

The wild boar was found near the town Neo Petritsi, in Central Macedonia region. The place is a mountainous area, and is located about 7 km as the crow flies from the border with Bulgaria. In that country, ASF has been a known problem among e.g. the wild boar population for some years.

Even though it is the first time that the virus has been found in Greece’s wild boar population, it is not the first time that the virus has been found in Greece. Almost 3 years ago, in early February 2020, the virus was detected in a backyard farm in Greece in what turned out to be a one-off infection. That occurred near the town Serres – also located in Central Macedonia, at about 40 km south of the current finding. That farm had 32 pigs of which 1 tested positive.

Greece is a pork importing country and produces roughly one third of its domestic pork consumption.