African
Swine Fever continues to hit hog farms in Russia, with the most recent outbreak
at a Mirtorg-owned facility in central Russia.
Miratorg
is Russia’s largest pork producer.
Russia
has been increasing pork production in recent years partly because it banned
imports from Western nations in 2014 in response to their sanctions related to
the takeover in Crimea.
African
Swine Fever, which is highly contagious, has, however, been persistent and
keeps Russia from exporting to Asian countries, including China.
The
disease can be spread by wild boars, but also by traffic among barns. It is
harmless to humans.
The
outbreak was detected at a feeding station at Miratorg’s Ivitsa 2 pork
production site in the Belgorod region, Miratorg said in a statement.
It
has had several ASF outbreaks this year.