July 3, 2006

Germany declares swine fever outbreak over

Authorities in western Germany Friday (Jun 30) declared that an outbreak of swine fever is over.

Inspections at 506 farms found no sick animals, said the Economy Ministry in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It said restrictions on transporting and trading in pigs were being lifted.

The outbreak started in March, and the disease was detected at eight farms.

More than 140,000 animals were slaughtered to prevent the disease from spreading.