African Swine Fever Detected in Finland for First Time – Municipalities Seek State Compensation for Economic Losses

African swine fever (ASF) has been confirmed in Finland for the first time, prompting strict movement and activity restrictions in parts of Southeast Finland. The Finnish Food Authority detected the disease in wild boars in Virolahti, Kymenlaakso, on 30 July, after PCR testing of dead wild boar piglets (Yle, Iltalehti). On 30 July, three dead wild boars were found in Virolahti, with ASF confirmed in all of them (Iltalehti). Wild boars were also discovered during searches conducted by the Finnish Food Authority and local hunters in Vaalimaa (Iltalehti). A dead wild boar discovered in Joutseno, Lappeenranta, outside the current infection zone, has since tested negative for ASF, according to Terhi Laaksonen, Head of the Animal Health and Welfare Department at the Finnish Food Authority (Ilta-Sanomat, Iltalehti). The piglet was found in Kuurmanpohja, Joutseno, on 2 August and arrived for examination on 5 August (Iltalehti). On 8 August, the Finnish Food Authority and local hunters began searching for dead wild boars in Virolahti’s infection zone, where multiple additional carcasses were discovered. Matti Nyberg, Head of the Animal Health Unit at the Finnish Food Authority, confirmed that several dead wild boars—likely young piglets from the same litter as the initially infected animals—were found near the original outbreak site (Yle). On 15 August, further dead wild boars were discovered in Virolahti’s terrain, though samples must still be analyzed to determine whether they died from ASF (Ilta-Sanomat). The highly contagious and fatal viral disease affects pigs and wild boars but does not pose a risk to humans. Iltalehti reports that the detection of ASF in wild boars found in Vaalimaa has led to additional restrictions on everyman’s rights in the forests of the infection zone, including a prohibition on berry and mushroom picking within a three-kilometer radius of the location where the dead piglets were found (Yle).