Thirteen new cases of African swine fever (ASF) have been detected in wild boars within Catalonia's high-risk zone, according to the Generalitat's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food. Eight of these cases were in El Papiol, two in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, two in Sant Cugat del Vallès, and one in Barcelona.
Out of 448 samples analysed this week, 435 tested negative, meaning the positive cases represent 2.91% of the total, the Ministry stated in a press release on Thursday.
Tracking the Outbreak
Since the outbreak began on 28 November, 297 positive cases have been identified from 3,677 wild boars tested across 19 municipalities. These include Badia del Vallès, Barberà del Vallès, Cerdanyola del Vallès, El Papiol, Molins de Rei, Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Montcada i Reixac, Polinyà, Ripollet, Rubí, Sabadell, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Sant Quirze del Vallès, Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Terrassa, Sant Just Desvern, Esplugues de Llobregat, Castellbisbal, and Barcelona.
In the last week, 450 wild boars were captured in the infected area, bringing the total number of captures to 4,590. The Generalitat estimates that 26,587 wild boars have been captured outside the affected zone so far this year. No wild boar hunts are carried out in April and May.
To help prevent wild boars from entering or leaving restricted zones, 26 traps and 34 'pig brigs' have been installed. Additionally, 320 kilometres of fencing have been put up.
