October 28, 2008

Authorities in south Russia's Stavropol Region plan to cull 7,000 pigs to prevent the spread of African swine fever, detected two weeks ago at a farm housing in the village of Gorkaya Balka, according to the regional governor's spokesperson.
 

Some 2,500 pigs have already been culled in the village. About 117 pigs died and tests confirmed the deaths were caused by the African swine fever virus.

A state of emergency has been declared in the area, where two new outbreaks were reported at private farms on Monday. The area is now quarantined, and the transport of livestock and agricultural products has been banned.

The economic cost of the outbreaks is estimated to hit RUB 100 million (US$3.6 million).

Following the outbreak, Ukraine has banned pork imports from the affected region.