Montenegro has recorded its first occurrence of African swine fever. According to the World Organization for Animal Health, the virus was confirmed Jan. 14 after being detected in two dead wild boars 500 meters from the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia-Herzegovina reported its first case of ASF in June 2023. The virus was confirmed via polymerase chain reaction at the PI Veterinary Institute of Republic of Srpska "Dr. Vaso Butozan" Banja Luka on June 22. The pig was from a farm near Bijeljina, in the northeast part of the country, near the border with Serbia.

Last year Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Sweden, Singapore and Bangladesh reported their first cases of ASF. However, it was Lithuania, Greece, Italy, Mongolia and The Philippines that experienced a resurgence of ASF in 2023, after a lengthy period without cases or finding the virus in previously unaffected significant areas.

According to the January Swine Disease Global Surveillance Report, this trend underscores the ongoing expansion of ASF into new territories and regions within countries already battling the disease.

The last WOAH situation report recommended surveillance programs cover domestic, as well as feral swine populations, since short-distance transmission of ASF seems to depend mainly on the wild boar population density and their interaction with low-biosecurity pig production systems. Long distance transmission may be associated with human activities.