African swine fever hits annexed Crimea

Lab tests found genetic evidence of African swine fever (ASF) in meat samples taken from the corpse of a wild boar, according to Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor.

The deceased boar was found around five kilometres southeast of the small town of Stary Krym, which is located in the internationally disputed Russian territory, the Republic of Crimea. The Russian Federation has been accused of annexing Crimea from Ukraine by the United Nations.

Measures to combat ASF put into effect by Rosselkhoznadzor include the erection of quarantine zones, restrictions on movement and a host of other preventative efforts.

Russia has had a long battle with ASF in recent years and early this week the country’s biggest pork producer, Miratorg, was hit with an outbreak of ASF on its farm at Belgorod Oblast. This forced the firm to cull over 20,000 pigs. It was just one of many outbreaks to hit Russia this year.

Russia’s battle against animal disease is not limited to ASF. Avian influenza, too, caused widespread problems in 2017 and the H5 strain of avian influenza has been identified on Borovskaya Poultry Farm ZAO.

Rosselkhoznadzor, which said it was doing everything to prevent the disease from spreading further, confirmed the presence of avian flu on the farm, located in Kostroma Oblast, northeast of Russia’s capital city, Moscow.