As of now, the Netherlands officially has 50 farms infected with Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV). Compared to the previous overview from June 2022, 13 new farms have been infected. Four farms were released by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).
Among them is at least one farm in the municipality of Lansingerland. That municipality is missing from the previous official overview in the list of municipalities.
Below is the number of infections (with the change number compared to June 2022 in brackets) and the municipality.
- 19 (+8) Westland
- 6 (+1) Hollands Kroon
- 2 Reimerswaal
- 1 Haarlemmermeer
- 1 (-1) Horst aan de Maas
- 1 Goerre-Overflakkee
- 1 Brielle
- 3 (+1) Steenbergen
- 1 Zuidplas
- 1 Noordoostpolder
- 4 Westvoorne
- 4 (+1) Midden-Delfland
- 1 Pijnacker-Nootdorp
- 2 Waadhoeke
- 1 Maashorst
- 1 Peel and Maas
- 1 (+1) Heusden
Since mid-2019, a total of 66 cultivation sites and one seed production, and the breeding site have been affected by the virus. A total of 17 sites have been released since the virus outbreak. At 5 of these sites, there has been a new release. One of these five farms was released for the second time, and four farms switched to another crop.
The 50 infected farms are under the supervision of the NVWA. Recently, the NVWA announced tighter controls on the spread of the virus. The NVWA sees that there are farms with a higher virus pressure and farms that illegally infect plants with ToBRFV intentionally, called cross-protection. The NVWA says it has indications that, despite an earlier warning not to mess with the virus, this is still happening.
Q status
ToBRFV is subject to a quarantine status and reporting obligation in a European context. Because the virus continues to spread worldwide, this status is under discussion, at least in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has long advocated adjusting the current Q status. An adjustment of the virus status to a Regulated Non-Quarantine Pests (RNQP) status, which would provide more opportunities for proper research into resistances, among other things, has not yet materialized.
Source: NVWA