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Tuesday, 19.03.2024, 14:51
African swine fever reaches Saaremaa Island
"Of course we were
ready for the suspicion to be confirmed," deputy director general of the
Veterinary and Food Board Olev Kalda
said. So far ASF had not been discovered on western Estonian islands.
To prevent spread of the
disease, the pigs will be killed and the building disinfected.
This is the sixth time
for the Estonian Veterinary and Food Board to diagnose ASF after September
2015.
According to Kalda the
agency received information about an increased death rate on the farm on Monday
evening and as on Wednesday morning 48 pigs had died on the farm since Friday.
Samples were taken from live pigs as well as dead ones and a total of 21
positive samples were detected.
The disease control zone
established around the outbreak spot does not include any pig farms.
An epidemiological
survey will be carried out to establish how the disease agent found its way to
the farm.
"Saaremaa and Hiiumaa
counties were so far the only Estonian counties where the European Commission
had not established any zones of control of the spread of ASF, but in the light
of this incident necessary restrictions would be implemented. It is too early
to speculate what restrictions would be implemented and that will be decided by
the European Commission," Kalda said.