The Republika Srpska government, one of the two autonomous entities of post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina, declared a state of emergency in an entire northeastern region to contain the spreading of African swine fever on Monday.
Agriculture Minister Savo Minic told Nezavisne Novine that the decision applies to the Semberija region, the country’s grain hub, which has strong cattle farming as well.
“Almost the entire Semberija has been affected, and we want to protect the one little part that has not yet been impacted. We asked the government to declare a state of emergency,” Savo Bakajlic, president of a local farmers’ association, told the newspaper.
To contain the disease, several thousand pigs will have to be culled and buried at specially designated sites, while transport of live pigs will be kept to a minimum.
The Fena news agency reported separately that a team of experts for African swine fever from GF TAD (Global Framework for progressive control of Transboundary Animal Diseases) would visit Bosnia-Herzegovina on 12-14 July.
The goal is to collect data and make recommendations for how to manage the disease, Fena said.
Animal swine fever is a viral disease that affects pigs and wild boar, with a high mortality rate, but is not transmitted to humans.
(Zoran Radosavljevic | EURACTIV.com)
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