Chief Veterinary Officer of Poland made a special statement in which he expressed his concern about the concealment of cases of domestic pig mortality caused by African swine fever, according to Rosselkhoznadzor, the Russian federal veterinary service.

On 17 July, three pigs are reported to have died on a farm near Bialystok and the carcasses were buried by the farmer. Veterinary inspection bodies were not informed about the deaths.

Rosselkhoznadzor states that the concealment of such cases in Poland as well as in any other country creates ideal conditions for the disease spread.

Bialystok is a large town in north-east Poland and capital of Podlaskie, the region where previous cases of the disease have been reported in wild boar.