July 21, 2011

Belarus fights against African Swine Fever

Fighting against African Swine Fever (ASF) requires substantial efforts of the entire area instead of a state or part of a state, according to Belarus' Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister, Vasily Sedin.

Taking into consideration that ASF breaks out in the east and southeast Europe every now and then, the outbreak might reach Central and Western Europe. The disease is spread by wild boars which travels cannot be restricted. The outbreak threatens food safety and international trade. "Quarantine measures imply huge economic losses," Sedin said.

He emphasised that Belarus treats epizootic threats very seriously.

First Deputy Director of the Veterinary and Food Supervision Department of the Agriculture and Food Ministry of Belarus Yury Pivovarchik informed that no ASF cases were reported in Belarus. The country has been carrying out ASF prevention measures since 2009. The necessary legal framework was developed. The ASF contingency plan for 2011-15 was adopted.

According to Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision of Russia Nikolai Vlasov, sooner or later the outbreak will reach Belarus too, and the country should be prepared for it. According to him, the ASF is likely to hit European countries in one or two years. He emphasised the need to ramp up cooperation to fight the outbreak.

African swine fever is harmless to people, but highly lethal to animals (with the death rate of 98-100%). In recent years, the ASF nosoarea has included Italy and the southern part of Africa. The disease poses serious threats to Russia and the Caucasus.