Romanian authorities have confirmed an outbreak of African swine on a farm in western Romania and 39,000 animals will be culled.
„It is official, there is an outbreak in Timis,” Timis county prefect Mihai Ritivoiu said on Facebook. He said local authorities and the food safety agency were meeting to agree what steps to take next.
„We must take measures to combat the spread of the disease. A priority is to protect two other farms, each with tens of thousands of pigs, located a few kilometers away.”
He said 39,000 pigs would be euthanized and health measures taken to prevent the spread of the disease.
The fever which affects pigs and wild boar has spread across Eastern Europe in recent years. It does not affect humans.
Hundreds of cases were reported in Romania and several other European Union states this year among pigs kept in backyards and on small farms as well as several large private farms.
There have been outbreaks this year in Germany, Belgium and Italy, the Pig Site reported. EU pork production is due to decrease by 5% in 2022.
