Open AccessArticle
African Swine Fever Outbreaks in Lithuanian Domestic Pigs in 2019
by
1,2,*,†, 3,†
, 1,2, 2,4
, 3
and 3
1
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Veterinary Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Tilžės 18, LT44307 Kaunas, Lithuania
2
State Food and Veterinary Service, Siesiku 19, LT07170 Vilnius, Lithuania
3
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
4
National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute, J. Kairiūkščio 10, LT08409 Vilnius, Lithuania
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Academic Editors: Clive J. C. Phillips and Robert M. Friendship
Received: 18 August 2021
/
Revised: 24 September 2021
/
Accepted: 29 December 2021
/
Published: 4 January 2022
Simple Summary
In Lithuania, African swine fever (ASF) notifications in domestic pigs and wild boar have been increasing since the entry of ASF from 2014 to 2018. The disease caused serious economic losses and affected commercial and non-commercial pig holdings. We conducted a prospective matched case-control study to investigate the potential risk factors associated with ASF outbreaks in pig farms in Lithuania in 2019. The study revealed that the risk of ASF occurrence in a pig farm was significantly lower if the farm had been inspected by veterinary inspectors, while the risk increased if certain activities, possibly related to the indirect transmission of ASF to a pig farm, were practiced on a farm, e.g., mushroom picking, sharing equipment, etc. Veterinary inspection seemed to increase the level of biosecurity and ASF awareness on a farm, which may have helped to prevent disease introduction. These findings can be used to improve the control and prevention of ASF in domestic pigs in countries affected by ASF.