USDA-GAIN report RO2021-0015 released on November 17th documents the impact of African swine fever (ASF) on domestic hog production. In many respects, the situation in Romania reflects other Eastern European nations where ASF can be regarded as endemic given the proportion of feral hogs.
The National Veterinary and Food Safety Authority has recorded 4,255 outbreaks of ASF since 2019. In addition, 5,895 wild boars have yielded ASF virus. Since the July 2017 commencement of the outbreak, over one million hogs have been culled in an attempt to eradicate the infection. At the present time, the swine population comprises approximately 220,000 breeding sows and 4.5 million growing hogs. During 2018-2019 the annual reduction in breeding sows attained 10 percent but a recovery was recorded in 2021 with a population approximately 3.5 percent below the 2017 pre-ASF level. Of the individual outbreaks, 90 percent have occurred in backyard operations with minimal economic impact other than for owners and villages. The outbreaks occurring in commercial hog farms have reduced the supply of pork and resulted in severe economic loss to operators.
In the absence of an effective vaccine, Romania and adjoining countries can only suppress outbreaks by applying quarantine and depletion. Cases are appreciably higher in 2021 than in 2020 attesting to the virulence of the virus and the lack of efficacy of current control measures.