African swine fever

What is African swine fever?

African swine fever (ASF) is a devastating infectious disease of pigs, usually deadly. No vaccine exists to combat this virus. It does not affect humans nor does it affect other animal species other than pigs and wild boars.

It can be transmitted either via direct animal contact or via dissemination of contaminated food (e.g. sausages or uncooked meat).

See more information on ASF here: EFSA, WOAH.

Where are we now? - See the factsheet.

Current Situation

For epidemiological information gathered through the EU Animal Disease Information System (ADIS), please see the "Notification System" page.

The agenda and the presentations of the points being discussed in the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF) can be found in the "Animal Health and Welfare regulatory committee" page.

Special control measures

Legislation: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/594 of 16 March 2023 laying down special disease control measures for African swine fever was adopted by the Commission based on the Regulation (EU) 2016/429 ("Animal Health Law"). More information on this legal framework can be found here.

Special control measures for African swine fever apply in the Union in addition to rules for the prevention and control of certain listed diseases laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687.

EU zoning measures: based on the epidemiological situation of African swine fever, the areas affected by that disease in relevant Member States are listed as restricted zones I, II and III in Annex I to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/594, while the areas identified at Union level as protection and surveillance zones or, in the case of wild porcine animals, as an infected zone are listed in Annex II to that Regulation.

The latest specific zoning measures that have been taken with respect to evolution of the African swine fever situation in the Union are included in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2886 of 12 November 2024, amending Annex I to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/594 as regards special disease control measures for African swine fever.

The map summarising the zoning measures for African swine fever in the Union and an interactive tool for EU ASF zoning measures provide an indicative representation of restricted zones I, II and III listed in Annex I of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/594 as last amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2886 of 12 November 2024.

Websites of competent authorities of Member States

(concerned with lists of establishments as referred to in Articles 19(6)(a), 34(2)(c) and 44(3)(a) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/594)

	Bulgaria (BG)		Croatia (HR)
	Czech Republic (EN) Czech Republic (CZ)		Estonia (EE)
	Germany (DE)		Hungary (HU)
	Italy (IT)		Latvia (LV)
	Lithuania (LT)		Poland (PL)
	Romania (RO)		Slovakia (SK)

NOTICE: The information on this site is for information purposes only. In case of errors, amendments or updates, the competent authority of each Member State should be contacted directly.

The EU legislation referenced above is fully in line with the WOAH international standards. Nevertheless, in order to ensure a higher level of animal health protection, the EU goes beyond the WOAH requirements and applies stricter standards in certain situations.

The Commission Notice on the guidelines on the prevention, control and eradication of African swine fever in the Union ('ASF guidelines') has been developed on the basis of previous working documents, and updated considering the most recent legislation and the latest scientific knowledge on ASF.

The ASF guidelines provide guidance to Member States and/or stakeholders on available tools for the prevention, control and eradication of ASF in response to the epidemiological situation of that disease in the EU and globally.

In particular, they provide for information on the existing EU legal provisions, illustrate and encourage best practices on the management of ASF, provide advice on specific measures on ASF prevention, control and eradication in the Union and provide for the principles and criteria for geographically defining ASF regionalisation in the EU.

BTSF training materials on African Swine Fever (ASF)

The BTSF (Better Training for Safer Food) initiative is actively participating in the fight again the ASF with the training of officials in the Member States and neighbouring countries.

Below, see the presentations for each of the sessions held on the ASF topic:

EFSA scientific advice

Relevant scientific advice on ASF has been provided by the European Food Safety Authority by means of the:

Blueprint and Roadmap (BRMP)

BRMP on the possible development of an African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccine.

The Commission has requested to the African Swine Fever EURL (specific mandate EU co-funded) to prepare a valuable document collecting all scientific work, identifying gaps and needs for possible vaccine development and proposing roads to achieve the final goal: the development of an effective and safe vaccine against ASF.

The aim of the ASF blueprint and roadmap is to give an overview of the research efforts needed and help to direct investments towards specific areas.

The STRATEGIC GOALS identified include:

Identification of potential strategies for vaccine development based on existing data/knowledge in a view of an effective and safe vaccine.
Identification of gaps and needs for vaccine development and manufacturing following the Good Manufacturing Practice Standards.
Identification of a network of dedicated laboratories directed towards vaccine development
Identification of the research steps (Roadmap)

ASF Diagnostics

Relevant information can be found on the website of EU Reference laboratory for ASF.