Danger remains: African swine fever increasingly widespread among wild boar
Although all domestic pigs in ASF outbreak areas have been culled and no active outbreaks remain, the risk persists and is even growing, warns the PTA.
On October 1, the Agriculture and Food Board (PTA) announced the end of the animal disease emergency but said readiness levels would remain unchanged. All pigs on farms affected by African swine fever (ASF) have been culled and initial disinfection measures have been carried out.
As of mid-October, there are no active outbreaks among domestic pigs in Estonia, according to Olev Kalda, head of the PTA's animal health and welfare department.
"All pigs in outbreak areas have been culled and the infected animal by-products sent for processing. So far this year, 11 farms have been affected and to prevent further spread of the disease, about 60,000 domestic pigs have had to be culled," Kalda said.
As of October 1, the number of pigs culled stood at 56,000. According to Kalda, the figure rose during the final outbreak when new piglets were born during the culling process.
Kalda added that preparations are ongoing to build a fence around the burial site in Metsküla. No pigs culled this year have been buried.
Final cleaning and disinfection is already underway on several farms. New pigs may be introduced 15 days after the completion of final disinfection. Repopulation will take place gradually to ensure the effectiveness of the measures taken to eliminate the virus, Kalda said.
New outbreak could be in the cards
While the farms have been cleared of the virus, the forests have not and there the spread of the disease has only intensified.
As of October 1, African swine fever (ASF) had been diagnosed in 187 wild boars, by October 10, that number had risen to over 200. The highest numbers of infected wild boars have been reported in Viljandi County (52) and Tartu County (36).
The spread has accelerated throughout the second half of the year, said Kalda.
"Compared with the first two quarters, the spread of ASF among wild boars has picked up in recent months. Between January and May, ASF was diagnosed in 43 wild boars, but from June through October 10, the number had already reached 158," he noted.
Historically, all ASF outbreaks in Estonia have been diagnosed during the summer months, from June through September. But according to Kalda, that doesn't mean there's reason to relax.
"Although based on earlier experience, the peak ASF transmission season has typically been from May to September, the recent uptick in wild boar infections clearly shows we cannot say the threat level has gone down," Kalda said.
The PTA can only declare the threat over once there are no ASF-positive wild boars left in the wild. That situation is still far off. In fact, there is a significant risk that ASF could flare up again next year once the weather warms.
"At present, the virus has already spread northward from the south into the forests of Rapla, Järva, and Jõgeva counties and the likelihood of it continuing to spread toward the north and west is high. So livestock farmers, hunters and the PTA together with its partners must all begin preparing for the next season," Kalda said.
Currently, movement bans are in place at 26 pig farms. These bans will remain in effect until the end of October or until further notice.
According to the PTA, Estonia has seen 41 ASF outbreaks in total in 2015–2017, 2021, 2023 and 2025, with around 110,000 pigs either dead or culled. The outbreaks are estimated to have caused more than €22 million in economic damage.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
