ASF outbreaks in EU pigs drop sharply, says EFSA
Domestic cases fall 83% in 2024
28 May 2025
2 minute read
By: African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks in domestic pigs across the European Union fell by 83% in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The drop was largely driven by reduced cases in Croatia and Romania, although Romania still accounted for two-thirds of all reported outbreaks.
In total, 333 ASF outbreaks were reported in domestic pigs across 13 EU Member States—one fewer than in 2023, as Sweden regained ASF-free status and no new countries were affected. Most outbreaks (78%) occurred in small operations with fewer than 100 pigs, but Italy and Poland saw an uptick in cases on larger farms.
Seasonality remained a key factor, with over half of all domestic pig outbreaks reported between July and September. Passive surveillance based on clinical signs led to the detection of 79.4% of outbreaks. Enhanced surveillance, including testing of dead pigs, identified 14.2% of cases, while tracing contacts uncovered 6.4%.
In wild boar, ASF remains widespread and steady, with between 7,000 and 8,000 outbreaks reported annually since 2022. Nearly 30% of the 23,919 wild boar carcasses tested through passive surveillance in 2024 were PCR-positive, accounting for 70.4% of wild boar outbreaks. In contrast, only 0.4% of the over 412,000 hunted wild boar tested positive, making up 28.4% of wild boar outbreaks.
Despite the reduction in domestic pig outbreaks, the size of ASF-restricted zones in the EU remained largely unchanged, with a slight expansion in combined Zones II and III.
