HELSINKI, Aug. 29 — Finland on Friday expanded a restricted zone for African swine fever (ASF) in the country’s southeast after the disease was detected in a wild boar about 40 km west of the previous zone boundary, the Finnish Food Authority said.
The remains of an adult wild boar were found in a field in Pyhtaa, a municipality on Finland’s southeastern coast along the Gulf of Finland.
The finding marks a notable westward spread of the outbreak. Until the Pyhtaa case, all confirmed infections had been detected in Virolahti, near Finland’s southeastern border with Russia.
In response, authorities expanded the infected zone to cover Kotka, Hamina and Pyhtaa, as well as parts of Loviisa, Lapinjarvi and Kouvola, all in southern or southeastern Finland.
The stricter core area around Virolahti will remain unchanged for the time being, the authority said. Hunting and the feeding of wild animals are prohibited in the restricted areas.
Restrictions also apply to pigs and wild boars, as well as meat, meat products and reproductive material derived from them.
Broader restrictions on movement in forests and other terrain, which apply in parts of the existing infected zone, have not yet been extended to the newly added areas.
The authority said further restrictions would be considered next week. Finland detected ASF for the first time in late July in wild boars found dead in Virolahti.
Since then, the virus has been confirmed in 36 wild boars, according to the Food Authority’s latest data. The outbreak has also affected Finland’s pork exports.
Exports to European Union (EU) states can continue normally from areas outside the restricted zone, but access to some markets outside the bloc has been disrupted.
Finland exported about 74 million euros (about 86 million U.S. dollars) worth of pork in 2025, of which roughly 77 percent went to markets outside the EU, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported, citing the Finnish Food Industries Federation.
ASF is a highly contagious viral disease affecting domestic pigs and wild boars. It does not infect humans but can cause severe illness and death in pigs. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
