A new case of African Swine Fever (ASF) has been registered at Kozatska agrofirm LLC (Kozatske, Sumy region) where 400 pigs were fed, according to a report on the portal of the Association of Pig Breeders of Ukraine pig.ua, referring to the owners of the farm.
According to the report, after lab tests of biomaterial of dead animals the ASF virus was officially confirmed on Aug. 18, 2015, while pigs started dying two weeks ago.
At present, all pigs at the farm are being destroyed. The borders of the epizootic outbreak are now protected and supervision zones have been defined.
As reported, an ASF outbreak at the Kalita farm was registered on July 28, 2015. Its pig livestock exceeded 60,000 animals. The farm estimates its losses at about Hr 200 million. This is the first ASF outbreak at an agribusiness.
Since 2012, there have been over 30 ASF cases in Zaporizhia, Luhansk, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Rivne regions.
The ASF virus is the causative agent of ASF. The virus causes a hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in pigs, but persistently infects its natural hosts, warthogs, bushpigs and soft ticks of the Ornithodoros genus, without any visible symptoms. There is currently no vaccine against ASF.
