Swine fever setback to Bulgarian trade hopes

Published by: smith 2009-01-07

Swine fever setback to Bulgarian trade hopes
http://www.cee-foodindustry.com/news/ng.asp?n=73517-ban-swine-fever-bulgaria

The future of the Bulgarian pork industry has been thrown further into doubt, after a new outbreak of swine fever was confirmed by veterinary officials earlier this week.

The announcement could have serious ramifications for meat processors in the country who are currently banned from trading their products within the EU, due to ongoing concerns over food safety.

Processors hoped to see EU the ban (javascript:KeywordSearch('KEYWORDS=ban&period=all&inner=1');) partially removed in areas that had been found free of the disease, but news of the latest outbreak could setback hopes for a resumption of trade to the bloc.

Local media reports say that 164 pigs have been culled in the north-east town of Smyadovo as part of measures to halt any potential spread of the contagious disease.

The reports added that 4 pigs had died from the disease, with a further 10 animals suspected of having been infected.

Last year, Bulgaria (javascript:KeywordSearch('KEYWORDS=Bulgaria&period=all&inner=1');) reported three major outbreaks of swine fever (javascript:KeywordSearch('KEYWORDS=swine+fever&period=all&inner=1');), all within the Bourgas region to the south-east of the country.

This resulted in the culling of hundreds of animals.

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Romania was also hit hard by outbreaks throughout 2006.

As a result, the European Commission announced that a ban imposed on pork products from both countries would remain in place even after they joined the bloc on 1 January this year.

This has seen Bulgarian officials tighten measures regarding food safety, in order to more successfully combat swine fever outbreaks.

A report by the United States government published in September last year, praised the efforts made by the country's officials in working to prevent the disease with its �limited resources�.

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The report added that Bulgarian officials had hoped on an �optimistic� note that the ban on its meat products would only be imposed in areas like Bourgas, which had seen outbreaks the disease.

Confirmation of the disease to the north however, could yet undermine efforts to convince the EC of the safety of some of its regions.

Swine fever is spread exclusively through pigs, and while it poses no threat to humans, there are fears that infected pig meat being used in feed, could spread into other areas and countries.

The disease is highly contagious and can survive in non-cooked meat products, which has resulted in the ban on meat exports. If waste food is fed back to pigs, the virus will trigger swine fever in those pigs too.

Vaccines for swine fever are readily available; though it has been controversially banned under current EU legislation for fears it may simply prevent diagnoses of the disease.

Veterinary authorities started a cull of 285 pigs in eastern Bulgaria after an outbreak of classical swine fever (CSF), according to the ministry of agriculture. The disease broke out in the village of Zlatar [in the Suomen district], where animals at 2 farms contracted the virus by drinking infected water. [A statement from the ministry of agriculture reports that the Sofia laboratory confirmed the diagnosis of classical swine fever, and that this is a secondary outbreak connected with an earlier one in the region, a month ago [February 2007].

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