Georgia confirms outbreak of African Swine Fever
Georgia has official notified the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) of 11 outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF) in pigs in the country. This is the first ever occurrence of the disease in northern Europe.
Georgia first notified the OIE on May 17 of several outbreaks attributed to porcine circovirus that causes wasting disease in young pigs. Tests carried out on samples submitted to the OIE Reference Laboratory in Pirbright, United Kingdom confirmed the presence of African swine fever virus. The source of the infection is currently under investigation.
Classical disease control measures have been implemented by the Georgian authorities, including the culling of animals and isolation of infected properties. A total of 20,000 susceptible pigs from villages and private farms were destroyed in 10 regions across the country.
ASF is generally prevalent and endemic in countries of sub-Saharan Africa . In Europe ASF is still endemic in specific areas in Italy ( Sardinia ). No reported outbreaks of ASF in other European countries have occurred since 1999 in Portugal.
As a result of the outbreak Russia has restricted meat imports from Georgia.
Planning is underway to rapidly deploy an OIE/FAO/EC expert mission to Georgia.
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