Description of the disease
Classical swine fever (CSF) is a highly contagious viral disease of swine (pigs and wild boar) which can spread via trade in live pigs, fresh pig meat and certain meat-based products.
Transmission takes place through direct contact between animals (secretions, excretions, semen, blood) or indirect contact through vehicles, clothes, instruments, needles, insufficiently cooked waste food fed to pigs; it can also be spread by pig traders and farm visitors. Transplacental infection leading to persistently infected offspring can also take place.
Sources for the virus are blood and all tissues, secretions and excretions of sick and dead animals. Congenitally infected piglets may be persistently viraemic and may shed the virus for months. Spread from infected wild boar to domestic pigs and vice versa has taken place on several occasions in the past in some areas of Europe.
Prevention can be achieved through effective communication between veterinary authorities, veterinary practitioners and pig farmers, effective disease reporting and animal identification system, a strict import control of live pigs, fresh and cured meat, prohibition of feeding pigs with waste food and virological and serological surveillance.
For epidemiological information gathered through the EU Animal Disease Information System (ADIS), please see the "Notification System" page.
See more information on CSF on the OIE website and on the EFSA Scientific Opinion of the Panel on the AHAW "Control and eradication of Classic Swine Fever in wild boar" page (at the request of the Commission).
Special control measures
Legislation: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/934 of 9 June 2021 laying down special control measures for classical swine fever was adopted by the Commission based on the new legal framework of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 ("Animal Health Law"). More information on this new legal framework can be found here.
Special control measures for Classical swine fever apply in the Union in addition to rules for the prevention and control of certain listed diseases laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687.
The Community Reference Laboratory for CSF is Institute of Virology, University of Veterinary medicine, Hannover, Germany.
CSF Guidelines on surveillance/monitoring
In addition document SANCO/7032/2010 (Rev 4) contains Guidelines on surveillance/monitoring, control and eradication of classical swine fever in wild boar. It provides guidance to the Member States as regards different options for controlling the disease, including vaccination of wild boar and hunting measures.