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African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread across Europe, with Greece now reporting a first case of the disease.
It has notified the OIE that the disease was confirmed on Wednesday 5 February in a fattening pig which died a few days earlier on a small farm located in Serres, which is in the northern part of the country. The area is near the border with Bulgaria, which has had cases of the disease in recent months.
Controls
A range of veterinary controls were put in place on Monday 3 February, in advance of the confirmation of the disease, because the disease was suspected as the cause of the animal's death. It is not known how the pig was infected.
The other 31 pigs on the Greek farm have been slaughtered and the carcases disposed of. Other pigs and wild boars within a 3km range have also been culled.
Spreading
Cases of ASF have now occurred in a number of eastern European countries including Poland, Latvia, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, Serbia and Bulgaria, as well as in Belgium.
Greece produces only about one-third of the pigmeat it consumes and imports the remainder.
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