Bulgaria reports new case of African Swine Fever
Bulgaria’s Food Safety Agency has announced a confirmed case of African Swine Fever in the municipality of Tervel in the Dobrich district.
This is the second case of the disease in Bulgaria in 2019, the agency said.
The agency investigated after receiving a report on February 22 of a dead wild boar in the municipality.
All steps in accordance with current legislation to control and eradicate the disease were being implemented, the agency said.
Domestic swine were being tested for the disease. Quarantine and buffer zones had been declared in the Dobrich and Silistra districts.
Meetings of regional and municipal animal health commissions would be held in both districts, with the participation of regional food safety directorates, municipal mayors, forestry representatives and hunting organisations.
Steps would include a search for the dead carcasses of pigs.
Key issues at the forthcoming meetings will be biosecurity in pig holdings, biosecurity during hunting, conditions for the movement and transport of pigs, as well as penalties for unregulated breeding of pigs in backyard farms, the agency said.
Farm biosecurity is a key factor in protecting domestic pigs from being infected with the virus, the agency said.
The agency issued a reminder that pigs in “backyard” holdings should be kept enclosed and with enhanced biosecurity and should not be in contact with feral pigs.
Failure to comply with biosecurity rules for hunting, as well as low biosecurity regarding domestic pigs, create the risk of transferring the sickness from wild to domestic swine, the agency said.
