ASF Germany: Virus spreads to 3rd district in North Rhine Westphalia
Hochsauerland is the 3rd district within the North Rhine Westphalia state where African Swine Fever (ASF) has emerged in wild boar. Germany’s reference lab Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI) confirmed the outbreak on February 26.
The infected animal was found near Schmallenberg-Störmecke. An initial positive finding had already been concluded on Tuesday, but things don’t get officially communicated until the reference lab has done so. The place of discovery is said to be about 3 km outside the fenced core area, wrote the German agricultural title Top Agrar.
Core area expanded
As a consequence, the inner core area will be expanded again. That means that the authorities will have to extend the ASF protective fence once more. The extent to which this case will affect the boundaries of the restricted zones is still unclear.
Currently, search teams from the state’s dog unit and emergency services from the Hochsauerland district are now using drones to search the site for further dead wild boar. State and district authorities are also coordinating possible protective measures.
ASF virus emerged in NRW in June 2025
The virus first emerged in North Rhine Westphalia state in June 2025. Even though the numbers of infected wild boar continued to climb over the months, geographically it seemed that the situation did not develop much. The most recent count shows 348 dead wild boar, according to the TSIS database, with findings in districts Olpe (187 cases) and Siegen-Wittgenstein (160). In recent weeks, however, the situation already proved to become more dynamic.
North Rhine Westphalia is not the only state where ASF has emerged. There is also another zone, about 100 km to the south, mostly in the state Hesse. The outbreaks near the border with Poland have virtually all been resolved.
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