African swine fever (ASF) has been diagnosed in a wild boar found in Ovada, in the province of Alessandria, per the Italian news wire service ANSA, and confirmed by OIE, the World Organisation for Animal Health. In a report posted on January 7, 2022, ANSA said tests were done by the Zooprophylactic Institute of Umbria and Marche. The results were shared with the Italian Ministry of Health; the agency is responsible for notifying OIE as well as the European Commission. The report posted by OIE on January 10, 2022, said, “Following the finding of a dead wild boar in northern Italy, the positivity for genotype 2 is reported, the same strain currently circulating in Europe, that characterizes the epidemic wave that began in 2007.”
This morning (1/10/2022), additional reporting revealed two other wild boar carcasses were found in Piedmont and Isola del Cantone in the province of Genoa, respectively, both suspected, but not yet confirmed, to have ASF. Another news source indicated three additional wild boar carcass findings, saying, “The discovery of two of the animals along the Bocchetta road between the San Giorgio bridge and the Carossina farmhouse, the third wild boar was found in Val Morsone, near the provincial road, in the locality of Fontana. A hand [sic] was taken from all three carcasses which will be analyzed and then, according to current provisions, as confirmed by the mayor of Voltaggio, Giuseppe Benasso, they were buried with the use of lime.”
This diagnosis of ASF is significant due to the geographical distance from areas in Germany and Poland where wild boar with ASF have been an ongoing issue (Map 1).
