New major outbreak of swine fever in Bulgaria

A new, major outbreak of African swine fever has been discovered in Bulgaria. It concerns a pig farm in the northeast of the country, near the city of Ruse, with more than 40.000 pigs.

The pigs on the farm in Brashlеn village will be culled, the country's food safety authority said. The outbreak comes shortly after another big one outbreak, also in northeastern Bulgaria. It concerned a farm with 17.000 pigs.

State of emergency declared
These are the first two large-scale outbreaks on professional pig farms. Previous reports of African swine fever in Bulgaria have involved small-scale farms and wild boars. In total, about 20 cases of dead wild boars have been reported in various regions, including around the border with Romania.

Authorities this week declared a state of emergency in Ruse and Pleven district. The state of emergency is in effect until July 31, but may need to be extended. Bulgaria has deployed police and military services to help fight the disease.

Jeanette Pennings

Jeannet has her roots in the flower bulb sector and she grew up on an agricultural company in the northern part of North Holland. As a generalist she reports for Boerenbusiness across all sectors. She is also exploring the possibilities of sponsored advertising.

j.pennings@boerenbusiness. Nl

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