17 thousand pigs should be disposed of after the virus was confirmed on a farm near Ruse.

Bulgarian authorities have reported yet another outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) at a farm located near the Romanian border. The virus was confirmed on a large farm of 17 thousand pigs in the village of Nikolovo, near the border town of Ruse.

“All pigs on the farm should be rejected,” said one of the representatives of the Bulgarian Food Safety Authority (BSFA), according to Industria Carnii magazine. Over the past 30 days, 30 new cases have been reported in Bulgaria.

According to official figures, 99% of pigs in Bulgaria are growing on industrial pig farms. Last week, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Desislava Taneva insisted on timely funding by the European Commission of veterinary programs to combat the disease. Desislava Taneva said that this assistance is extremely important, and the country expects support for last year’s actions.

Bulgaria is one of many countries in Eastern Europe affected by the ASF virus. The disease is fatal to pigs and wild boars, but does not affect humans.

However, the human factor is considered responsible for the spread of the virus through Europe and Asia. A vaccine against this disease has not been developed, and screening is the only effective measure that authorities can take in such a situation.