Russia: African Swine Fever problem only solved by 2020
The Russian ministry of agriculture has adjusted its forecast as to when the country will be free from African Swine Fever – 2020 at the earliest.
In the past, Rosselkhoznadzor experts forecasted that a complete control and prevention of any outbreaks could be the case by 2018, but the recent massive outbreaks in the central regions of the country have caused a setback in this regard.
It is still unknown how much damage the outbreaks exactly cause for the pig industry. According to the National Union of Pig Breeders (Nationalni Soyuz Svinovodov), small pig farmers have become most affected with ASF.
Union representatives state: "The financial effect cannot be found in large and equipped farms but mostly in private and small farms. After identifying the ASF virus quarantine is usually imposed with a radius of 7-10 km. If such farm is in the area of quarantine, it can not export their products within six months, which of course affects market opportunities. As the result, farms loose their pig stocks."
According to official numbers, presented by the Russian federal static service, the number of pigs in private enterprises decreased from 12 million head to 11 million head in 2011.
New diagnostic tools against ASF
The Russian ministry of agriculture has also been testing new African Swine Fever virus diagnostic tools. The ministry does this in cooperation with the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Rosselkhoznadzor.
It is expected that already in the near future, new tools will be distributed over the territory of all Russian districts.
Lilia Surgucheva, director of the veterinary department of the Ministry of Agriculture, said: “The Academy of Rosselkhoznadzor in Pokrov city currently has very good groundwork on the African Swine Fever (ASF). We hope that they will shortly establish rapid and effective diagnostic tools and we will begin to ship it around the country.”
• Russian ministry of agriculture
• National Union of Pig Breeders
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