Overview

• The Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute confirmed African swine fever in a wild boar carcass found in Sauerland’s Kirchhundem, marking the first detection in North Rhine-Westphalia.
• Local authorities, who had preemptively strengthened biosecurity, have deployed a trained search dog team to locate additional infected remains and define containment boundaries.
• The Ministry of Agriculture has established restriction zones around the discovery site and urged pig farmers to enforce strict disinfection and waste-management measures.
• African swine fever is almost always fatal in domestic and wild pigs but harmless to humans, spreading via direct contact with infected boars or contaminated clothing, vehicles and food waste.
• Neighboring Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate reported their first cases in June 2024, highlighting the continued threat to Germany’s pork industry if the virus reaches farm herds.