Poland’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Janusz Zwiazek, has confirmed that a case of African swine fever has been detected in Poland.
According to a statement released by Dr Zwiazek, the disease was detected in a dead wild boar that was found about 900m from the Belarusian border, near the village of Grzybowszczyzna.
The announcement came as the EU continued its battle to end Russia’s block on pork products. Russia had already suggested that the disease had entered Poland but was not being reported, and this confirmation will do nothing to further the EU’s eforts to reinstate exports to Russia.
The Russian ban on pork imports from the EU was discussed at a meeting of the bloc’s agricultural ministers in Brussels yesterday (Monday), where EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg argued that the findings indicated the outbreaks didn’t occur on EU territory and that Russia’s response continued to be disproportionate.
BPEX has updated its African swine fever web page, where information on the disease wil be regularly updated. See: http://www.bpex.org.uk/R-and-D/Pig-Health/asf.aspx