Swine Fever Sweeps Italy’s North, Threatening Production Of Prosciutto

One of Giovanni Airoli’s sows tested positive for African swine fever in late August.

The most concerning area, where infections have been confirmed in domestic pigs, spans 4,500 square kilometers (nearly 1,740 square miles) and includes parts of Piedmont and Emilia Romagna, known globally for its prized Parma prosciutto.

Within a week, all 6,200 sows, piglets, and fattening pigs on his farm south of Milan were slaughtered under strict protocols to halt the spread of the disease, which threatens Italy’s 20-billion-euro prosciutto, cured sausage, and pork industry, according to a report by Paolo Santalucia for the Associated Press (AP).

Since swine fever first appeared on the Italian peninsula in January 2022, the country has culled nearly 120,000 pigs — three-quarters of those within the past two months as the emergency has intensified.

“It’s a desolation,” Airoli said outside his farm in the northern Lombardy region, the epicenter of Italy’s swine fever epidemic.

Strict hygiene protocols are in place, allowing only employees to enter and exit the premises, and requiring them to wear clean coveralls and boots designated for use within the farm.

“We followed all required safety measures, but something must have gone wrong. We still don’t know what caused it,” Airoli lamented.

The disease saw a sharp rise with 24 outbreaks in early September, primarily in Lombardy.

The most concerning area, where infections have been confirmed in domestic pigs, spans 4,500 square kilometers (nearly 1,740 square miles) and includes parts of Piedmont and Emilia Romagna, known globally for its prized Parma prosciutto.

Farmers in the broader 23,000-square-kilometer (8,880-square-mile) area face restrictions due to infections in wild boars or falling within a buffer zone.

African swine fever, nearly always fatal to pigs, initially spread through wild boars before affecting domestic herds. The disease does not pose a risk to humans. Coldiretti,

Italy’s influential agricultural lobby group, estimates industry losses at 500 million euros ($554 million) so far, exacerbated by import bans, and warns that some farmers face the prospect of losing their livelihoods.