African swine fever detected in Lithuania

African swine fever has been detected in Lithuania, news portal vz.lt reports.

The disease, which causes high death rates in pigs, was detected in one of the biggest pig farms in the Ignalina Region, Director of the Lithuanian State Food and Veterinary Service Jonas Milius said.

The complex, which keeps 20,000 pigs, is insured and belongs to the company Idavand. The culling of pigs is under way on the farm.

African swine fever was detected in Latvia earlier this year for the first time ever. A state of emergency was declared in large parts of the country as a result and mass culling has also taken place there.

Meanwhile, The Food and Veterinary Service has halted the import of several pork product categories, including fresh pork meat, frozen pork, as well as various pork product - sausages, ground pork, packaged pork etc.

Residents in Latvia who have purchased Lithuanian pork products the past two weeks have been been advised to evaluate the products before eating them and not dispose of them in regular bins so as to prevent the spread of the disease further.