June 12, 2007

EU sends expert team to help combat swine fever in Georgia

The European Commission said Monday (Jun 11) that it has sent a team of experts to Georgia to assist against an outbreak of African swine fever.

Experts from the European Union, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health will help Georgian authorities assess the situation and advise them on immediate control measures.

A highly contagious disease, African swine fever causes fever and death in pigs, but it does not affect humans. An outbreak in Georgia is surprising, as the disease is generally confined to Sub-Saharan Africa.

The South Caucasus country announced the outbreak of African swine fever on June 5, but it began at the end of April and up to 20,000 pigs have already been slaughtered.

The FAO earlier said that the disease could have a "catastrophic" impact on commercial pig production and on international trade, unless its spread is halted.

Neighbouring Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia have already issued a temporary ban on imports of Georgian pork.