title: African swine fever virus introduction into the EU in 2014: Experience of Latvia.
abstract: African swine fever (ASF) virus was introduced in Latvia in June 2014. Thirty-two outbreaks in domestic pigs and 217 cases in wild boar were notified in 2014. Twenty-eight outbreaks (87.5%) were primary outbreaks. The contagiosity within pig herds was low. Failure to use simple biosecurity measures to reduce the chance of virus introduction, for example by inadvertent feeding of locally produced virus contaminated fodder were the main causes for the outbreaks in backyard holdings. The infection in wild boar survived locally in two different areas with a low prevalence and a slow spread. The persistence of the infection in wild boar within an area was most probably linked to wild boar scavenging the carcasses of infected wild boar.
authors.affiliation: Food and Veterinary Service, Riga, Peldu 30, LV-1050, Latvia; Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment - "BIOR", Riga, Lejupes 3, LV-1076, Latvia. Electronic address: edvins.olsevskis@pvd.gov.lv.
authors.forename: Edvīns
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oļševskis
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Via Ca' Fornacetta, 9, 40064 Ozzano Emilia, Italy.
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Guberti
authors.affiliation: Food and Veterinary Service, Riga, Peldu 30, LV-1050, Latvia.
authors.forename: Mārtiņš
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seržants
authors.affiliation: ADC-Consult, Mikkelborg Alle 7, 2970 Hørsholm, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jørgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Westergaard
authors.affiliation: EU Reference Laboratory for African swine fever, INIA-CISA, 28130 Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gallardo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment - "BIOR", Riga, Lejupes 3, LV-1076, Latvia.
authors.forename: Ieva
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rodze
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Suedufer 10, 17493, Greifswald, - Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Depner
mesh_terms: D000357:African Swine Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D000358:African Swine Fever Virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000818:Animals; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D007844:Latvia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D013552:Swine
keywords: African swine fever; Biosecurity; Descriptive epidemiology; Low contagiosity