October 14, 2011

African swine fever recurs in Russia

Days after Russian authorities declared control over African swine fever, the pandemic has recurred unexpectedly, and has affected the region of Kalmykia, an area previously regarded to be disease-free. 

The Veterinary Services has introduced quarantine, but officials fear the further spread of the virus, since the dead pigs were found near the drainpipe, which pours into the local lake, a major source of drinking water in the region. In the quarantine area, several thousand heads of pigs were located, and veterinary services also noted that the prevention measures concerning African swine fever were not carried out by the local farmers at all.

Currently under the control of the Republican administration of Rosselkhoznadzor, special measures are being carried out to eliminate the source of infection and prevent the spread of the African swine fever causative agent.

There were also reports on two neighbouring villages in private households where pigs were found dead from an unknown illness. Rosselkhoznadzor experts are currently studying samples from dead animals, to determine the presence of African swine fever.

Experts are currently unable to explain how the virus got into the Kalmykia area, as it does not border with any other region, where registered ASF outbreaks were found recently.