July 27, 2012

Russia's Krasnodar region reports African swine fever outbreak

At a farm in Russia's Krasnodar region with about 23,000 pigs, another outbreak of African swine fever was registered, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Oversight said in a statement on Thursday (July 26).

The watchdog also said that it is taking measures to localise the infection and restrain further expansion of the virus.

In early July, the region's Governor Alexander Tkachyov ordered to strengthen the fight against the fever to avoid the introduction of quarantine, and a restriction to grain exports from the region. Previous outbreaks of African swine fever in the region were detected in January.

According to the regional government, almost 100,000 pigs were exterminated from late 2011 until early 2012. The local authorities paid out RUB500 million (US$15.5 million) in compensations to farms.

The service said the governor had to impose quarantine in several more districts of the region, apart from the ones where it was set on July 16. Meanwhile, the Zavolzhskoye farm in Russia's Tver Region will have to exterminate a minimum of 33,000 pigs to prevent the African swine fever (ASF) from spreading, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Oversight's Deputy Director Nikolai Vlasov told PRIME on Thursday (July 26).

The farm, which is a part of the Kopitaniya agricultural holding, bred 115,500 pigs as of January. The place where the infected pigs lived will need to be blotted out, because the building is so old that it cannot be effectively disinfected, Vlasov said.

Vlasov said that another shed where 90,000 pigs live may breed infection as well. Vlasov did not provide an assessment of losses that the company can bear out of the disease.

The ASF outbreak was registered in the Tver Region in May, which prompted the authorities to impose quarantine in the region in July. The African swine fever virus, or ASFV, is a contagious viral disease, which is potentially lethal to pigs and boars. The disease poses no health risk to humans, according to the World Organisation of Animal Health.