Germany: swine fever

In Germany, the first cases of African swine fever (ASF) were recorded, which put meat exports at risk.

The country is the main producer of pork in Europe and the main supplier of meat to China. Cases of African fever that were detected in Brandenburg, dealt a new serious blow to the German economy. As soon as it became aware of the outbreaks of ASF, German pork exports outside the EU was banned.

African fever or Montgomery's disease spread in the mid-twentieth century from the African continent to countries in Asia and Europe. However, there is no vaccine or cure for this virus.

In early August, the first outbreaks of fever were detected in Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. In Belgium, neighboring Germany, cases of wild animals have been recorded since 2018.

African fever is not dangerous to humans, but it is fatal to animals.

Note that the coronavirus pandemic plunged Germany into the worst recession since World War II. Business activity indicators are not expected to return to pre-crisis levels until the end of next year. The European Commission predicts that the German economy will shrink by 6.3 percent this year and expand by 5.3 percent in 2021. In the second quarter, the country's GDP fell 10.1 percent from the previous quarter.