In this case, ASF was found in wild boar, rather than in domestic pigs, and it was hunters in the village of Martna, around 20 kilometers southeast of Haapsalu, who found two boar carcasses near a piglet which they were retrieving, after culling it.

The three carcasses along with another killed in Taebla, south of Martna, on the same day, all returned positive for ASF after lab results were released Tuesday.

Lääne County, in the northwest of Estonia, together with Ida-Viru County in the northeast, had been one of the few regions to have been ASF-free since the current outbreak started in mid-summer.

Outbreaks were detected in Ida-Viru County last week too, while the disease was found on the island of Saaremaa earlier this week.

The boar carcasses found in Martna and Taebla will be incinerated rather than buried.

The ASF epidemic prompted a wild boar cull, as these animals can be a vector for the disease, and spread it to pig farms. The cull has according to some experts had a knock on effect on Estonia's ecology in that boar are a staple in wolves' diets. A lack of these animals has been hypothesized as one reason behind increased reports of wolves encroaching more on human-inhabited areas, in the search for food.

Nearly 10,000 cases of ASF in wild boar had already been found this year, before these latest incidents.

ASF is a highly contagious viral disease of domestic pigs and wild boar that is usually fatal. It spreads through direct contact or indirectly via contaminated pork products, clothing, vehicles, or equipment. The virus can survive for months, including in processed pork, so detection triggers strict controls such as quarantine and culling. ASF does not infect people.

Around 55,000 domestic pigs had already been slaughtered in Estonia by mid-August as a result of the outbreak, leading to the closure or scaling down of farming and meat businesses in several cases.

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