The Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (DARPA) and the Department of the Interior of Catalonia have carried out an emergency drill for a possible outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) on two farms in Girona, with the aim of evaluating the response and control capacity in a health crisis situation.
Although Catalonia has not recorded cases of ASF in wild or domestic animals, the aim is to ensure rapid and coordinated action in the event of an outbreak.
The drill consisted of detecting cases of ASF in wild boars that had died in the wild and in pigs from two nearby farms with symptoms of the disease. In response to these outbreaks, restriction zones were established within a 10 km radius, which include protection and surveillance areas.
Among the outstanding actions are the detection of dead wild boars in the risk area by a team of 20 rural agents with drones and specialized dogs, and the biosecure removal of the carcasses. The DARPA veterinary teams, for their part, carried out epidemiological investigations to identify possible entry routes and minimize risks of spread in the affected farms.
