The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Vladimir Joković, appealed to farmers to be responsible for recommendations and instructions from the authorities regarding the appearance of African plague in Montenegro.
He said at a press conference today that he will contact all pig farmers in order to take protective measures.
He announced that on Thursday, at the regular session of the Government, he will establish a crisis action plan, explaining that the state will find the means to finance the loss if a disease appears on the farms and animals are destroyed.
Joković reminded that two days ago, African swine fever was discovered in the municipality of Nikšić, right on the border with Bileća, in two wild pigs.
"We will take all measures in that area so that other animals do not transmit this vicious disease. The system did not fail, and only in Montenegro the disease was not transmitted to domestic animals", said Joković.
Director of the Directorate for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs Vladimir Đaković explained that African swine fever is not a zoonosis, that is, it cannot be transmitted from an animal to a human.
He said that in Montenegro in this period of the year, after the pig slaughter, the number of animals has decreased significantly. Đaković recommended that pig owners call the on-call veterinary clinic if they notice symptoms of illness in pigs and that the Administration will pay for the examination.
Director of the Specialized Veterinary Laboratory, Marko Nikolić, emphasized that African swine fever does not affect other types of animals.
"The disease has been present in the region for a long time and it was a matter of days when it would appear. There is an epidemic in the region, while in Montenegro we have two confirmed cases. We expect more, but no one can say how many there will be," said Nikolić.
He pointed out that it is a viral disease and that the most common way of transmission is the contact of a sick animal with a healthy one, but it is also possible through contaminated objects and food.
"There is no vaccine for this disease, so we have to raise biosecurity measures on farms," emphasized Nikolić.
He announced that all pigs must be marked in accordance with the law, and explained that splats are one of the biggest risks and that such feeding should be avoided or prohibited. He claims that fences should be installed on farms and that breeders use special equipment only for pigs, while hunters who have domestic pigs are at risk. He said that pigs should be bought from verified suppliers.
Nikolić pointed out that a large number of tests have been done so far and that all of them were negative for African swine fever, but that any change in health status should be contacted.
"The disease passes in a peracute and acute course. If the course is peracute, we have a sudden death, while in the case of acute, the incubation period is varied and lasts up to 18 days. The symptoms are elevated body temperature, depression of the animals, refusal to take food, diarrhea, vomiting, abortions occur in supra-eared sows, bleeding on the animal's skin in the region of the ears, extremities, and snout, and soon death occurs. "Hunters must know that the spleen is enlarged several times in this disease, and any change should be an alarm to call a veterinarian and perform sampling," explained Nikolić.
At the press conference, it was also announced that, although the disease cannot be transmitted to humans, it is not recommended to consume infected meat. Nikolić explained that, if the animal were to be slaughtered in the incubation phase, the virus in the frozen meat could be active for up to a year.
The authorities clarified that the human factor is the main factor in the transmission of the disease, and they also reiterated that the Program of Mandatory Measures for the Protection of Animal Health stipulates compensation for information on the discovery of a dead wild boar in the amount of 40 euros. The found corpse is reported to the Directorate for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs at the hotline number 067 666 632.
Bonus video:
