WRITTEN QUESTION E-0841/97 by Iñigo Méndez de Vigo (PPE) to the Commission (10 March 1997)

Subject: Swine fever

Can the Commission provide information regarding the number and the location of the animals affected by the swine fever epidemic which has broken out in Germany and the Netherlands? What measures has it taken to restrict the spread of the disease and have animals affected by it been exported?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (8 April 1997)

Classical swine fever is a notifiable disease in accordance with the provisions of Council Directive 82/894/EEC on the notification of animal diseases within the Community ((OJ L 378, 31.12.1982. )). When an outbreak of swine fever has been confirmed Member States provide other Member States and the Commission with certain data on the outbreak. The data are transmitted by using common code numbers via the established animal disease notification system (ADNS). The data provided include information on the date on which swine fever was suspected, the date on which swine fever was confirmed, the location of the infected holding and its distance from the nearest pig farms, and the number of pigs of each category on the holding. Outbreaks confirmed in Germany are being reported at the level of the administrative unit known as Kreis whilst in the Netherlands outbreaks are being recorded at the level of RVV kringen.

From 6 January to 12 March 1997, Germany has reported outbreaks as shown below:

>TABLE>

From 4 February to 12 March, the Netherlands have reported 38 outbreaks. Two outbreaks were confirmed in the RVV Kringen Breda and the two infected holdings had a pig population consisting of 6,641 pigs. Thirty six outbreaks were recorded in the RVV Kringen Nijmegen and the pig population at these holdings was 56,292 animals.

The measures to control and eradicate classical swine fever in Council Directive 80/217/EEC introducing Community measures for the control of classical swine fever ((OJ L 47, 21.2.1980. )) are minimum control and eradication requirements. It is anticipated that Member States will implement additional measures if a risk assessment suggests that control measures may be difficult to put in place or if the prevailing conditions suggest an especially high risk for the spread of infection. Theoverall objective is to eliminate the swine fever virus rapidly from the affected area. Within the framework of Council Directive 90/425/EEC ((OJ L 224, 18.8.1990. )), the Commission may adopt protection measures in addition to those provided in Directive 80/217/EEC. In February 1997, the Commission adopted Decion 97/116/EC ((OJ L 42, 13.2.1997. )) introducing a ban on the export of live pigs from five Länder in Germany and Decision 97/122/EC ((OJ L 45, 15.2.1997. )) which bans the export of live pigs from seven of nine RVV Kringen in the Netherlands.

Findings from epidemiological investigations carried out by the veterinary authorities in the Netherlands and in Italy respectively and findings of a Community mission to the two Member States indicate that two outbreaks of classical swine fever reported by Italy in February 1997 can be linked to a consignment of pigs originating in the Netherlands. The pigs left the holding of origin two days before the disease was confirmed at the holding. The incubation period of classical swine fever is frequently considered to be from 5-12 days but it may be considerably longer. The evidence suggests that some pigs were in the incubation period at the time of dispatch from the holding of origin.