Swine fever scare draws pork ban

May 09, 2002

Both the Czech Republic and Lithuania on May 4 banned the importation of French pork products which have not been processed at high temperatures, following the detection of swine fever in eastern France, veterinarian authorities said.

The head of the Czech Veterinarian Authority, Josef Holejsovky, said in Prague that the measure was in accordance with an agreement reached with France on dealing with such outbreaks.

He said the ban, which also applied to boar meat, covered all pork products that had not been processed at temperatures above 72 degrees Celsius (162 degrees Fahrenheit).

In the Lithuanian capital Vilnius a similar measure was announced by Algis Dranseika, head of animal health department at the State Veterinary Service, who refused to say how long it would remain in force.

The virus was detected among pig herds at the end of April at Chemery-les-Deux in the Moselle region of eastern France.

Swine fever cannot be transmitted to humans but is highly contagious among pigs, and strains can lie dormant for long periods of time.

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