The farm affected in Lower Saxony is a sow farm with 280 sows and around 1500 piglets in the municipality of Emsbüren in the south of the Emsland district. The cause of the entry is so far completely unknown and is now being intensively investigated. The countermeasures have been initiated. A team of experts from the FLI will also be involved on site to investigate the causes. A connection between the ASF outbreak in Emsland and the ASF outbreak in the Uckermark has not yet been seen, according to the Ministry of Agriculture in Lower Saxony.

As the Minister of Agriculture of Lower Saxony rightly pointed out, it was to be expected that there would be new cases of ASF from time to time. Now it happened in a processing region - and now it is important to keep the field damage as low as possible. The fact that domestic pigs and no wild boars are now affected in Emsland gives at least reason to hope that the virus can be combated quickly and effectively, analogous to the most recent cases in Baden-Württemberg and previously in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. An ASF occurrence in the domestic pig population can be narrowed down much better and can therefore also be combated more specifically than in the wild boar population. It is now crucial that the control measures, as announced, are carried out consistently. That's why it's good that long-established companies in Lower Saxony with the appropriate equipment and experience will take over the disease control professionally and efficiently. The fact that the cause research has also been initiated and is being meticulously implemented with the support of the FLI is also crucial in order to be able to avoid further point entries.