AFRICAN SWINE FEVER SLIPS INTO NAGORNO-KARABAKH
STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 31, ARMENPRESS:A team of Armenian agricultural experts have confirmed, after visiting pig farms in Nagorno-Karabakh that a disease known as African Swine Fever (ASF) has slipped into this region too. Grisha Baghian, head of food safety and veterinary medicine department of the Armenian agricultural ministry, said the first report about sudden death of pigs came on October 26. He said it was not yet clear how the disease has spread to Nagorno-Karabakh. He said there is only one hotbed of the disease in Nagorno-Karabakh. Local authorities have imposed ban on pig movements and marketing. Pig owners were told to burn the carcasses of dead pigs. Also strict entry and exit controls between all infected and free areas have been enforced. The outbreak of ASF was first reported in Georgia in early June; more than 30,000 pigs died and a total of 22,000 pigs were culled by mid-June. Then it slipped into Armenia’s northern regions of Lori and Tavush killing there about 5,000 pigs. African Swine Fever, which is highly contagious among pigs, results in high pig Mortality, as there is no vaccine against the disease. It does not, however, affect humans.
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