African Swine Fever virus is a highly virulent DNA virus that causes a severe hemorrhagic disease of the same name affecting both domestic pigs and wild boars with high mortality rates
it does NOT infect humans - meat or other products from pigs do NOT pose any food safety risk for humans
this is NOT swine flu
Epidemiology
initially limited to the sub-Saharan African region, the virus (specifically genotype II) spread globally and is now a major concern in Africa, Europe, Asia, the Pacific and, more recently, the Caribbean
from 2022-2025, there were over one million pigs lost in Europe due to genotype II which shares a single common ancestor with those circulating in Africa
the virus has been present in Europe since 2007. Its current dramatic spread appears to be driven largely by people within Europe traveling longer distances.