Azerbaijan, Baku, 11 March / Trend corr. S.Babayeva / The State Veterinary Service at the Agricultural Ministry of Azerbaijan is planning to abolish the quarantine imposed on the village of Nij in the Gabala region of Azerbaijan in because African Swine Fever was found there.
"Disinfection in the village will be complete in the next few days and quarantine will be abolished," Yolchu Khanvali, a spokesperson from the State Veterinary Service, stated.
The mass destruction of pigs in Nij in order to prevent the virus will be complete on 12 March. Up to now, 4,100 pigs out of a total of 4,750 have been destroyed.
The State Veterinary Service at the Azerbaijani Agricultural Ministry placed Nij under quarantine on 28 January due to the African Swine Fever virus, being reported for the first time in Azerbaijan.
Quarantine may be abolished only a month after the destruction of the last infected animal.
Khanvali stated that a special emergency commission has been operating in the territory. The final result with the exact number of animals destroyed as a result of the quarantine will be submitted to the Agricultural Ministry. The Agricultural ministry will submit the document to the Finance Ministry in order to transfer funds from the State budget to local treasury accounts. "The residents must be paid compensation within two months," Khanvali stated.
African Swine Fever (ASF) is an expanding devastating viral disease currently threatening the pig industry worldwide. The virus is an icosahedral cytoplasmic deoxyribovirus (ICDV) of the Asfarviridae family. It is an arbovirus (transmitted by ticks) and is the only arbovirus that contains DNA. Wild pigs of Africa, mainly the warthog and bushpig, are the original vertebrate hosts of ASF. Domestic pigs are infected by ticks ( Ornithodoros moubata) or by direct contact with wild pigs. Transstadial and transovarian infections occur in ticks. Recently, ASF caused high morbidity and mortality in domestic pigs in Nigeria and other West African countries previously known to be free of the disease. No protective vaccination has been discovered; hence, a slaughter policy with adequate compensation, strict quarantine of pigs and their products at borders are necessary to stop the current outbreaks of ASF in Africa, particularly in West Africa.
The correspondent can be contacted at: Capital