Russia: African swine fever kills over 100 pigs

An outbreak of African swine fever virus in south Russia's Stavropol Region has so far killed 115 pigs, the regional veterinary service has said.

News agency RIA Novosti reported that the outbreak was reported on October 15 in the village of Gorkaya Balka at a farm containing over 6,000 pigs. Later tests confirmed the deaths were caused by the African swine fever virus.

First registered outbreaks of the highly contagious virus occurred in 1903 in South Africa, but are rare outside the region. Last spring in Georgia, which borders Russia's North Caucasus republic of North Ossetia, outbreaks occurred in 10 regions, leading to a total of 20,000 pigs being culled.

Click here for the free Pig Progress newsletter

Editor PigProgress