Fight against African swine fever: exercise in the Nuremberg region successful!

Fight against African swine fever: exercise in the Nuremberg region successful!

Today a sensational exercise on African swine fever (ASF) took place in the Nürnberger Land district, with the aim of testing the cooperation between the forestry department, the veterinary office and the administration. In the Brunn forest district, it was simulated that a wild boar carcass was reported that was suspected of having an ASF infection. In the region, the greater Nuremberg area is considered a risk area because the dense wild boar populations and busy traffic routes increase the risk of an outbreak. So far, Bavaria has been spared from the disease, which makes preventive measures particularly important, as schweine.net reports.

In order to test the disease protection processes, documentation and cooperation under realistic conditions, several activities took place. A total of three wild boar carcasses were identified and samples were taken. In the afternoon, the plan was to search for fallen game, using both dogs and a human chain. The exercise also had the purpose of preparing for a positive result from the laboratory of the State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) in Erlangen. Johannes Wurm, head of the Nuremberg forestry company, emphasized how important coordinated processes are to contain the disease.

Preparation and necessity

Dr. Christiane Klapdohr, veterinary director at the Nuremberger Land district office, explained the need for the exercise to promote familiarization with the processes and the recognition of weak points. Protective suits, disinfection locks and hygiene measures were also tested. Such exercises are particularly important because the ASF virus affects both domestic and wild boar and its spread must be prevented with appropriate hygiene measures and control of wild boar populations. This is also underlined by the recommendations of the German Hunting Association (DJV) and the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), which have prepared the core topics of early detection, possible measures in the event of an epidemic and practical applications based on concrete case studies in a comprehensive paper, such as jagdverband.de reported.

A vaccine against ASF is currently not available, which is why the focus is on preventive measures. Effective methods to combat the virus must be developed, especially in hunting practice. In an outbreak scenario, such as the recent one in the Czech Republic, where the virus was detected around 350 kilometers from the German border, crisis teams must act quickly and take local circumstances into account when planning. In this way, the animal disease in the wild boar population can be quickly combated and its spread to domestic livestock can be avoided.

Future actions and collaboration

The exercise in Nuremberg was an important step not only for the authorities, but also for hunters and farmers. All those involved were called upon to cooperate constructively. The experiences from today's exercise should be incorporated into future training courses because, as the LGL explains, such simulations are essential in order to be prepared in an emergency. The aim remains to combat the animal disease in the wild boar population quickly and effectively in order to protect farms and ensure food safety.