African swine fever has never been recorded on the territory of Montenegro, and the disease is not dangerous for humans and other animals, announced today from the Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs.
"Taking into account the unstoppable spread of this disease on the European continent, especially the appearance of the disease in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Croatia, as well as its longer presence in Serbia and North Macedonia and other countries of the region, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Greece, the way of transmission and spread, the lack of a vaccine as well as effective therapy against this disease, African swine fever currently represents the biggest threat to the pig farming sector of Montenegro and the population of wild pigs," the statement of the Administration points out.
From that institution, they added that African swine fever is a contagious, viral, infectious disease of domestic and wild pigs that manifests itself in the form of hemorrhagic fever, and mortality can reach 100 percent.
"The causative agent of the disease is a virus that is extremely resistant to external conditions and remains present in the infected area for a long time. It only affects domestic and wild pigs, of all categories. Wild pigs are the main source of infection for domestic pigs. The disease spreads in a variety of ways, namely : contact between infected and healthy pigs, feeding pigs with contaminated food remains, contaminated food and water, infected ticks, clothing and footwear, contaminated objects and equipment, means of transport, manure, carcasses of dead and slaughtered animals, rodents and insects". it is written in the announcement.
According to the Administration, the disease is manifested by the sudden death of one or more pigs, and mortality can be 100 percent, loss of appetite, depression, elevated body temperature up to 42 degrees Celsius, bleeding on the skin - most often on the ears, snout, tail, legs , stomach, sides of the trunk, bloody diarrhea, miscarriages, unsteadiness when walking, difficulty breathing, coughing and vomiting.
"It is important to know how to recognize this disease, and the clinical picture is complex and non-specific. There is no cure for the disease, nor is there a vaccine against this disease. In the event of the disease, the only way to fight it is to kill and harmlessly remove sick and suspected domestic pigs on the infected farm , and in infected and threatened areas, very rigorous measures are taken to control this disease. In the case of killing domestic pigs, the owners have the right to compensation for damages paid from the Administration's budget, provided that all prescribed measures have been implemented on the farm," the announcement reads. .
The situation in Montenegro
The Administration stated that although African swine fever has not been recorded on the territory of Montenegro, the risk of the occurrence of this disease is very high.
"Precisely with the aim of preventing the occurrence and early detection, activities aimed at prevention, i.e. measures to prevent the occurrence, are carried out, as well as increased surveillance of domestic and wild pigs and rigorous control of the import of pigs and products obtained from pigs at border inspection points. In force is the Order on the ban on the import and transit of shipments of live domestic and wild pigs, meat and products from pigs in order to prevent the introduction of the dangerous infectious disease African swine fever ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Montenegro", no. 70/18), which prescribes a ban on the import of domestic and wild pigs , as well as the conditions for the safe import or placing on the market of Montenegro products originating from domestic and wild pigs from countries or areas of countries where this disease has been confirmed, and in accordance with the practice of the countries of the European Union and the World Organization for Animal Health when it comes to African swine fever," the announcement reads.
The Administration said that workshops and trainings for veterinarians, hunters and pig keepers, distribution of brochures and informational materials are continuing, and the implementation of the "Stop African Swine Fever" campaign, which is being carried out for the fourth year in a row by EFSA (European Food Safety Agency) ).
"The only effective measure to prevent the introduction of the virus of this disease is a high level of biosecurity measures on farms, slaughterhouses and hunting grounds, as well as control at border inspection points. For the sake of early detection of classical swine fever in wild pigs, it is mandatory to report every death to the local veterinary clinic or the competent veterinary inspector wild boar, finding the corpse of a dead wild boar, as well as the death of a wild boar as a result of traffic accidents, when appropriate samples are taken and delivered to the Specialist Veterinary Laboratory. In case of finding the corpse of a dead wild boar, you can report the same to the Administration, phone number 067 66 66 32. For each report, which results in the finding and laboratory examination of the corpse of a wild boar, funds in the amount of €40 are provided for each person who made the report," the announcement reads.
Recommendations to pig farmers
The Administration once again calls on pig keepers to adhere to all recommendations and measures to prevent the occurrence of this disease, i.e. to implement strict control measures and apply biosecurity measures on the farm, which includes:
- compliance with regulations on animal identification, animal movement and traffic;
- keeping pigs in such a way as to prevent direct contact of domestic pigs with wild boars and other wild animals;
- avoid grazing pigs and letting pigs into an open proctor, which is not protected by a fence or in some other way;
- do not feed pigs with pomace;
- persons who have been in contact with wild boars must thoroughly wash and disinfect their clothes and shoes;
- mandatory reporting of every sick or dead domestic or wild pig to the competent veterinarian;
- place barriers at the entrance and exit to the facility where pigs are kept.
- implement measures to remove ectoparasites and protect animals from ticks;
- carry out preventive disinfection of the barn (floors and walls) by spraying with milk of lime or other suitable disinfectant;
- proper disposal of manure, as well as in the case of slaughtering for own needs,
- proper disposal of waste products (burying, burning).
The situation in the world
African swine fever first appeared in Europe in 1960 in Spain, Portugal and Sardinia, and after the disease appeared in Georgia in 2007, the disease also appeared in Russia, from the south to the north and northwest of Russia.
Since then, the disease has spread and is currently recorded in most European countries, as well as on the Asian continent and in Africa.
Since the first appearance of African swine fever in the European Union in 2014, the disease has spread to a large number of member states.
From the beginning of 2023 to June 15, 2023, 255 outbreaks of African swine fever in domestic domestic pigs were reported (Germany 1, Greece 3, Italy 3, Moldova 15, Poland 5, Romania 94, Serbia 131 and Ukraine 3) and 4802 cases of ASK in of wild boars (Bulgaria 120, Czech Republic 38, Estonia 22, Germany 683, Greece 2, Hungary 303, Italy 586, Latvia 174, Lithuania 186, Moldova 6, North Macedonia 14, Poland 1823, Romania 212, Serbia 180, Slovakia 448 and Ukraine 5).
"For Montenegro, the continued presence of the disease on the territory of Serbia (from 2019 to today), as well as the recent appearance of the disease in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, is of particular concern," concludes the statement of the Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs.
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