Moldovan national food safety agency identifies reason for infection with African swine fever in northern district
16:16 | 29.09.2016 Category: Economic
Chisinau, 29 September /MOLDPRES/ - The National Agency for Food Safety (ANSA) has identified the reason for the infection of animals from northern Donduseni district with the African swine fever. According to ANSA director Vsevolod Stamati, the virus was brought to Moldova though a private person from the Donduseni district, who bought pork from a Ukrainian settlement.
“The virus was brought by a private person during the Saint Mary holiday, when the dedication day is marked in more settlements of the Donduseni district. The man brought crude pork from Ukraine, and after processing it, he gave the waste to pigs of his household and the animals were infected with the African swine fever,” Stamati said at a working meeting of the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry.
“Given that the republican laboratory is not accredited, the samples collected from the infected animals were sent to Spain. Most probably, the results will be confirmed or refuted by Spanish specialists,” Stamati noted.
The ANSA official gave assurances that “there is no risk for the virus to spread on the territory of Moldova, as all the needed prevention measures have been taken, with employees of the Customs Service, Border Police, as well as local public authorities involved in counteracting this disease.”
Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Eduard Grama said that the spread of the swine fever in Moldova would hit the economy of the country and its image. Therefore, concrete measures have been taken, and competent bodies keep the situation under control.
“The government on 27 September banned the import and the crossing of all products of pork and its derivatives in Moldova, after two hotbeds of African swine fever had been discovered. Presently, the authorities monitor the situation, and in order not to allow the spread of this virus, I urge all citizens to prove maximal responsibility,” Grama said.
The African swine fever is a contagious disease affecting the domestic and wild species of pigs. The virus is not transmissible to the man.
(Reporter P. Beregoi, editor A. Raileanu)
