On Sunday, July 19, the destruction of pigs infected with African swine fever (ASF) in the pig farm of the farm “Kalna dzenīši” was completed, said Anna Joffe, a public relations specialist of the Public Relations Department of the Food and Veterinary Service (FVS).
She noted that the “Kalna dzenīši” virus had affected two pig farms with more than 1,700 domestic pigs, and the destruction of all these pigs infected with the ASF virus ended on 19 July. Consequently, cleaning works and disinfection of the holdings will be started in these holdings.
Joffe added that on Monday, work began on the company “Korkalns” ASF to destroy sick domestic pigs. With more than 9,800 domestic pigs in the farm, the process could take up to two weeks, the Public Relations Specialist at the FVS Public Relations Department estimated.
According to Joffe, work on the epidemiological investigation is still ongoing. Consequently, the cause of ASF in the affected holdings is still unknown.
LETA has already reported that on Friday, July 17, ASF outbreaks were confirmed in domestic pigs in domestic pig holdings of Rudbārži Parish, Skrunda District, with a total of 11,500 domestic pigs, including ASF detected in the holding “Korkalns” and the farm “Kalna dzenīši”.
Jānis Podnieks, a member of the board of the company “Korkalns”, told LETA – as the investigation is currently underway, he will refuse any comments about what happened, emphasizing that the situation can be commented on after the epidemiological investigation.
Linda Dreibote, a representative of the Kalna Dzenīši farm, also declined to comment further on how the animal might have become infected.
It has also been reported that this year the first case of ASF for domestic pigs was detected on July 6 in Gudenieki Parish, Kuldīga Region, where there were 31 pigs in the backyard farm.
ASF was first registered in Latvia in June 2014 for three wild boars a few meters from the Belarusian border. It is a very dangerous disease and the entire flock of domestic swine must be slaughtered.
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