Over 12,000 Pigs to Be Culled in South Russia

RUSSIA - Vets in southern Russia's Stavropol Territory plan to cull a total of 12,000 pigs in an area suffering from an outbreak of swine fever, a local veterinary chief told RIA Novosti on Saturday.

3 November 2008

2 minute read

"Over 8,000 pigs have been culled at the moment," Vasily Serdyukov said.

Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Rosselkhoznazdor, explains that the outbreak of African swine fever virus in south Russia's Stavropol Region has so far killed 112 pigs out of 460 which were kept for fattening at the collective farm named after Lenin, in the Sovetsky District, the Stavropolsky Krai, in the period of October 15-22, 2008.

Later according to the results of clinical, anatomico-pathological and epizootological examination tests, it was supposed that the deaths were caused by the African swine fever virus. The laboratory tests of the pathological material conducted at the All-Russia Scientific Research Institute of Veterinary Virology and Microbiology confirmed the preliminary diagnosis. Urgent measures are taken to prevent the spread of the infection.