July 5, 2013

Belarus reports African swine fever in Vitebsk farm

Due to Belarus' Veterinary Department's information on its website that swine fever has been established on a farm in Vitebsk, Belarusians believe that an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) is spreading through the country.

Since Vitebsk is located near the border area with Latvia, pig farmers on the Latvian side of the border are faced with a possible threat of being infected, Food and Veterinary Service spokeswoman Ilze Meistere said.

The first case of ASF in Belarus was ascertained on June 25 in Grodno Region, approximately 40 kilometres from the Lithuanian border.

In order to prevent the swine fever from entering Latvia, the Food and Veterinary Service has disinfected all livestock transportation trucks that are returning to Latvia from Belarus.

At the same time, the baggage of all persons entering Latvia from Belarus and Russia are being inspected.

The African swine fever is a very dangerous, highly contagious viral disease that affects pigs and wild boars. In the event of contamination, all pigs within a designated area are to be put down in order to prevent even more losses from the disease.