PigProgress reports that just a few days after the discovery of African Swine Fever (ASF) in a small farm in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the next European country to report ASF is Croatia.

Outbreaks in two farms

The outbreaks were found in 2 farms in the northeastern part of Croatia. It is likely not a coincidence that this happened shortly after its appearance in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Geographically, the new outbreaks are about 25 km away from the Bosnian town of Bijeljina, where the virus was detected one day earlier. The Croatian Veterinary Institute in Zagreb confirmed the presence of the virus in Croatia.

Victims of the ASF virus

The virus appeared on 2 farms near the village of Posavski Podgajci, close to Drenovci in the Vukovar-Syrmia County, located less than 1 km from the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The larger of the two farms had 40 pigs, of which 1 animal tested positive and died. The entire herd was culled.

The smaller farm had 8 animals, all of which tested positive for the ASF virus. In total, 3 animals had already died due to the virus.

The 23rd country

Croatia is the 23rd country in Europe to report ASF within its borders since genotype II entered Europe in the Caucasus Mountains in 2007.

Neighboring Serbia has reported ASF outbreaks since August 2019. Other countries in southeastern Europe have also reported ASF in recent years, including Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece, each experiencing varying levels of severity and appearance of the disease.