African swine fever has been detected in Finland for the first time
Finland has officially confirmed its first case of African swine fever (ASF). The virus was detected in a wild boar in the eastern part of the country, near the Russian border, following laboratory tests.
According to the agency, African swine fever was confirmed in the municipality of Virolahhti, located in eastern Finland near the border with Russia.
The Finnish Institute of Natural Resources noted that as of early January 2026, the country’s wild boar population numbered approximately 2,380 animals.
African swine fever poses no threat to humans, but it is highly contagious and almost always fatal to domestic and wild pigs.
The disease has spread from Africa to Europe and Asia, causing significant losses in pig herds, trade restrictions, and a negative impact on the global meat market.
It was previously reported that following the first outbreak of African swine fever in Spain in nearly 30 years, about one-third of pork export certificates were suspended.
In addition, in December 2025, Spanish authorities deployed the military to contain the spread of the virus near Barcelona.
This was reported by the Finnish Food Agency, according to Reuters.
Earlier, a mass die-off of wild boars was recorded in the Mohyliv-Podilskyi district of Vinnytsia Oblast.
Two female tourists brought a dangerous disease from Zanzibar to Lviv.
Earlier, doctors in Lviv diagnosed a man who had returned from Uganda with tropical malaria.
The first case of hantavirus—a disease transmitted to humans by rats and other rodents—has been recorded in the Lviv region.
