Latvian farmers shocked as African swine fever hits large farm with high biosafety standards

An outbreak of African swine fever on a farm with 5,023 animals in central Latvia has left local pig farmers in shock because the farm was known for its high biosafety standards, Latvian public radio reported on Monday.

It is not yet clear how the deadly porcine disease found its way to the pig farm in Krimulda, central Latvia.

Maris Balodis, head of the Latvian veterinary authority, the Food and Veterinary Service, said that the farm had been maintaining high biosafety standards and it had hosted biosafety courses organized by the European Commission.

Moreover, representatives of the Food and Veterinary Service and the European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office had inspected the farm.

The food authority will probe the causes of the outbreak after all pigs on the farm are culled and destroyed.

Balodis pointed out that African swine fever is not an airborne disease and animals contract it by eating infected food.

Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis called a meeting of the Emergency Management Council on Monday to decide on whether to declare a state of emergency in the central Latvian municipalities of Krimulda and Adazi.

Although it is expected that the state of emergency will be officially declared on Tuesday, all the necessary safety measures have been taken.

The European Commission is expected to declare a 20-kilometer risk zone around the affected farm, which means that meat export from this area to other EU members will be banned. Endit