August 15, 2012

Russia's Volgograd Region detects African swine fever outbreak

A new outbreak of the deadly African swine fever at a small farm in the Volgograd Region has been detected by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry, and introduced an emergency regime in the area.

According to the ministry's data, 1,042 pigs must be slaughtered and cremated to prevent the disease from further expansion.

This was the eleventh African swine fever outbreak in the Volgograd Region in 2012.

Outbreaks of African swine fever have been registered in 26 districts and cities since 2007, with the majority of cases registered in the Tver, Krasnodar, Volgograd, and Smolensk regions. In July, a quarantine was imposed in the Tver Region.

The African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a contagious viral disease that is potentially lethal to pigs and boars. The disease poses no health risk to humans, according to the World Organisation of Animal Health.