African swine fever hits Serbia, culling of around 11,000 pigs begins in Vojvodina

A new outbreak of African swine fever has been confirmed by Serbian authorities at a large farm in the Vojvodina region, while the process of destroying around 11,000 pigs has also begun in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.

Speaking to the public broadcaster RTS, Serbian Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry Dragan Glamočić said the presence of the virus had been confirmed at a farm in the village of Hrtkovci.

He explained that the planned culling of nearly 11,000 pigs began today, as part of the measures taken to bring the disease outbreak under control.

About a month ago, the first cases of African swine fever in small family farms were identified in Vojvodina. The region has the largest number of pigs in Serbia.

African swine fever is a highly contagious and fatal viral disease for pigs, although it is not transmitted to humans.

Data show that the disease has been detected in 70 countries around the world, including 16 European states.

In the region, cases of African swine fever have also been reported in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary and Romania.