Bosnia-Herzegovina reports first African swine fever outbreak

Jun 26, 2023

Bosnia-Herzegovina has recorded its first occurence of African swine fever. The World Organization for Animal Health confirmed the virus was detected via polymerase chain reaction at the PI Veterinary Institute of Republic of Srpska "Dr. Vaso Butozan" Banja Luka on June 22. The pig was from a farm near Bijeljina, in the northeast part of the country, near the border with Serbia.

According to a recent report published by the European Food Safety Authority, the number of outbreaks of ASF in pigs and cases reported in wild boar in the European Union fell considerably in 2022 compared to the previous year. In 2022, ASF outbreaks among domestic pigs in the EU decreased by 79% compared to 2021.

Eight EU countries (Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) and four non-EU neighbouring countries (Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine) reported outbreaks in domestic pigs. Romania was the most affected EU country with 327 outbreaks, representing 87% of the total EU outbreaks. Serbia was the most affected non-EU country of those included in the report, with 107 outbreaks.

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Video: Season 7, Episode 1: Managing Risk and Seeing Opportunities in U.S. Pork Production

Today’s episode features three guests discussing the similarities and differences between pork production in the United States and Brazil, along with strategies for managing risk in today’s industry while recognizing and acting on opportunities. First, Dr. Anne Caroline de Lara, executive manager of live pig production at Seara Alimentos, a JBS company in Brazil, is joined by Dr. Matthew Turner, head of operations for JBS Live Pork. Together, they discuss how labor, climate and ventilation challenges vary between Brazil and the United States, while underscoring their shared commitment to raising healthy pigs. They also point to lessons producers in both countries can take from one another’s systems and on-farm experiences. Then, Brady Reicks, risk manager at Reicks View Farms, shares his perspective on risk management, drawing from his background in markets and his transition into farming. He discusses how protecting margins varies by operation and offers practical approaches producers can use to make marketing and business decisions with greater confidence rather than hesitation.

Both conversations were recorded at recent industry events focused on swine livability, including the International Conference on Pig Livability and Iowa Swine Day.