African swine fever outbreak stopped in Belgorod region
MOSCOW. June 11 (Interfax) - An African swine fever outbreak which happened amongst wild boars in the Belgorod region on June 2 has been stopped and the infection has been confined.
The announcement was made at a meeting of the ASF prevention and cleanup commission chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich on Tuesday, says a press release posted on the Russian government website.
A new occurrence of the African swine virus in the Belgorod region is especially dangerous as it is the leading pork producer in Russia.
There have been no ASF outbreaks amongst farm pigs in Russia since April 2014, it said. Wild boars present the biggest threat of ASF spreading. Hence, it has been decided to reduce the wild boar population and migration in the Central and Northwestern Federal Districts and adjoining territories.
The meeting also discussed a shift of local pig farms to other animals. A total of 1,571 farms have completed the shift since the beginning of this year, the Russian Agriculture Ministry said.
Commission members advised regional authorities to step up the information campaign targeting to stop the spread of the African swine virus.