Serbia reports 4 possible cases of ASF
Four possible cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) have been reported by Serbia to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Three of the suspected cases were located near Belgrade and another one in the district of Podunavski. 114 pigs were culled to prevent the disease from spreading, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
A common supposition is that infected pork coming from Bulgaria or Romania are at the origin of these outbreaks. Bulgaria has already culled 130,000 pigs in one month after the virus has reached industrial farms. 30 outbreaks have been reported in the country in the last couple of months and authorities have initiated the emergency plan in several areas where pigs found in the backyard farms are to be culled.
In Romania, there have been 300 outbreaks reported only in July, mostly in backyard farms but the authorities have not taken any severe measures so far.
For the Bulgarian pig industry, the situation is more dramatic then it seems as the country may lose all of its pig herd of 600,000 head. Recent outbreaks have been reported also in Poland, Moldova and Russia.
Since May, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and OIE experts have started a series of meetings to warn about the risk of the ASF virus spreading to the Balkans
However, the industry doesn’t have an accurate handle on what causes many of these losses &...
"The modern slaughterhouse, which has the highest standards in terms of animal welfare and occupa...
Following visits to meat processors during the week, the buyers enjoyed a tour of John Purcell&rs...
