Brussels, 21/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - The EU has taken measures aiming to adapt the controls and restrictions on the ground in the event of outbreaks of African swine fever, depending on the levels of risk identified.
On 18 March, the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health adopted revised control measures following the confirmation of African swine fever in wild boar in Lithuania and Poland. These new rules draw a distinction between Sardinia (where the disease has been detected in pigs), and Lithuania and Poland (where the disease has only been detected in wild boars).
The new rules identify three risk levels: (1) high risk because of endemic disease in pigs and wild boar in Sardinia (Italy); (2) a re-demarcation of the affected area in Lithuania and Poland along borders with Belarus, where the disease is present only in wild boar; and (3) a buffer zone adjacent to the infected area in Poland and Lithuania to prevent further spread of the disease.
The restrictions applied depend on the level of risk: (1) very stringent restrictions in Sardinia; (2) general restrictions in live pigs, semen and pigmeat in the infected area in Poland and Lithuania, with derogations if risk mitigation measures (tests, bio-security) are applied; and (3) light restrictions applicable only to live animals accompanied by surveillance in the buffer zone.
These revised control measures will apply until at least 31 December 2017. The Commission stresses that there have been only four cases of African swine fever in Poland and Lithuania, near to the border with Belarus. “These cases are linked to the prolonged presence of this disease in the western regions of Russia and the introduction of the disease in Belarus”, the Commission explains.
Additionally, the EU veterinary surgeons approved aid of €3.5 million in 2014 to fight African swine fever in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. (LC)