BUDAPEST, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The African swine fever virus has not been detected in Hungary in the swine population, according to official sources here on Monday.
"The domestic swine population is not affected by the African fever," the chief veterinary officer Lajos Bognar told public television channel M1 on Monday. "However, the disease is spreading among wild boars," Bognar added.
Wild boars infected with the disease have been found in northeastern Hungary, Bognar informed, while there was also a high risk of the epidemic propagating in central eastern Hungary.
Hunters are obliged to remove the carcasses of dead boars and kill ones exhibiting symptoms of the African swine fever, according to Bognar.
Farmers are advised to pay increased attention to cleaning and disinfection, and not to feed their swine with green fodder straight from the fields, or use fresh straw for litter. Livestock cannot be transported from one location to the other without prior inspection by a veterinary, Bognar said.
An African strain of the virus is currently sweeping across farms in Eastern Europe. Both Romania and Bulgaria have taken measures to prevent further spread of the virus. Hundreds of thousands of pigs have been culled.
