Sharing best practices in fighting African swine fever (ASF) is critical to halting the spread of the disease, according to experts with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

EFSA said these best practices include early detection methods and rigorous emergency measures.

The EFSA experts assisted Baltic countries and Poland in the analysis of epidemiological data collected through September 2017. ASF continues to spread among wild boars. In 2017, two additional European Union member states — the Czech Republic and Romania — reported cases, bringing the number of affected member states to six.

The EFSA experts concluded that, despite concerted efforts to stop the spread of ASF among wild boars in Eastern Europe, people have played a critical role in spreading the disease, for example, through the disposal of contaminated waste in wild boar habitat.

EFSA veterinarian Sofie Dhollander presented the findings of the report, "Epidemiological Analysis of African Swine Fever in the Baltic States & Poland," on behalf of the ASF working group at a high-level conference organized by the Czech Republic's Ministry of Agriculture on Nov. 9.