Vita gazette – There is a plague alert in Lazio, Campania and Lombardy. The situation is rather critical and risks having severe consequences throughout the country.

Several Italian regions have raised alarms that do not bode well recently. In particular, those of Lazio and Campania, where the first cases were registered. Following the implementation of further investigations, worrying feedback has also arrived from Lombardy. The situation is rather critical and risks having severe consequences throughout the country.

The first event took place a month ago in the Lazio Region. A carcass infected with African swine fever was found in Rome. The area, located northwest of Rome, is currently called a red zone. The Municipality has taken steps to stop the spread of the virus. He called on residents to report sightings of dying or already deceased wild boar, and rubbish bins were fenced off so as not to attract foraging animals. It will no longer be possible for citizens to enjoy picnics in risk areas, placed under surveillance. Following the first discovery, the number of infected carcasses in Lazio increased progressively.

The plague also affected Campania, especially the city of Salerno. The alarms were sounded following the discovery of a group of forest carabinieri, who found five wild boar carcasses towards the end of May.

Two days later, once the necessary analyses were done, the confirmation arrived: the animals were infected with African swine fever. The Region promptly convened the local and regional crisis unit in the presence of the National Reference Center, the General Directorate of Animal Health of the Ministry of Health and the Extraordinary Commissioner for ASF.

And the fear came true. A request for intervention was also received from the Lombardy Region. “The situation is dire; we need to stem this scourge before the circulation of swine-derived products is blocked”, explained the president of Cia Lombardia, Paolo Maccazzola. Recently, the infected carcass of a wild boar was found in Pavia, to be precise, in Torre Bagnaria, not far from Varzi. The latter is a municipality known for producing DOC salami, and the current situation risks only bending the sector.

Following the report by Cia Lombardia, a second case was found in Oltrepò Pavese. The carcass of a wild boar found in Ponte Nizza (in the province of Pavia) tested positive for the plague. The Region has established a red zone in the area, hoping to counter the spread of the virus in what is one of the most active places in the production of pork derivatives worldwide.

Symptoms of African swine fever

The virus affecting wild boars and pigs is highly transmissible and resistant. It could survive for years and years in meat that is frozen.

As the name suggests, it is generally present in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, numerous outbreaks in states such as Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia have taken hold in the past. The symptoms do not differ much from classical swine fever. Weakness, loss of appetite, and fever are the most common but can go as far as internal bleeding and miscarriage. To have an accurate diagnosis, a laboratory analysis must be carried out. The severity can vary according to the aggressiveness of the strains. In the worst cases, the animals are doomed to die, usually ten days after the first symptoms appear. Some pigs can cope with the virus, but in any case, they can remain active carriers of the plague for a long time.

What are the dangers for humans?

We specify that the disease is transmitted only between animals and that the infection occurs mainly by direct contact or by the bite of ticks, which act as vectors. Transmission can also be indirect, and the virus can infect pigs through contaminated clothing of farmers or inappropriate disposal of food waste.

Humans, therefore, are not at risk of infection. However, the spread of swine fever could affect the quality of life of each of us, causing an increase in prices. Furthermore, the owners of farms where animals become infected are forced to deal with the virus firsthand.

There are still no vaccines capable of eradicating African swine fever; the first step in keeping the virus away is monitoring domestic farms, especially wild boar carcasses in the surrounding areas.

Farmers have had to cull hundreds of pigs in many countries. In all of this, prevention plays a central role.

Farmers must respect the safety parameters, prioritising animal welfare and paying attention to concerns about waste disposal and importing foreign products. Timeliness is also important: once the first cases have been registered, it is necessary to intervene promptly by delimiting the areas concerned and taking the proper measures.