A quarantine zone shall be established around the holding. In holdings situated in this area, the PVD will strengthen the checks on the health status of pigs and compliance with the biosecurity requirements.
It shall be prohibited to move pigs from the holding to the holding in the quarantine zone, as well as to export pigs and pigmeat outside that zone.
The PVD recalled that in order to protect domestic pigs from ASF disease, biosecurity should be strictly observed:
- footwear must be changed at the entrance to the pig holding and the footwear must be disinfected;
- work tools, wheelbarrows, buckets and other equipment used in the barn must not be used outside it;
- direct and indirect contact of domestic pigs with wild animals must be avoided;
- litter likely to have been accessed by wild animals must not be used;
- pigs must not be fed with food scraps, green feed (including herbal grass), and other non-heat-treated products of plant origin;
- no visitors may be admitted to pig holdings;
- if the pigs look unwell, the veterinarian should be called immediately.
The biggest threat to domestic pigs is wild boar. This year, ASF was detected in 239 wild boar in 23 Latvian municipalities.
Special care should be taken in the holdings located in Alūksne, Augšdaugava, Balvi, Cēsis, Dienvidkurzeme, Dobele, Gulbene, Jēkabpils, Krāslava, Kuldīga, Limbaži, Ludza, Madona, Ogre, Preiļi, Rēzekne, Sigulda, Smiltene, Tukums, Valmiera, Varakļāni, and Ventspils, as the largest number of cases has been identified in these areas.
