Slovakia ready to fight African swine fever virus

Slovakia is prepared to contain the African swine fever virus and stringent measures will be adopted if there is any outbreak detected on its soil, the State Veterinary and Food Administration (SVPS) director Jozef Bires said at a press conference on Thursday. Bires spoke in the wake of an infected wild boar found in Hungary, less than a kilometre from the Slovak border. On Thursday he reiterated that no African swine fever virus had been detected in Slovakia yet that is why the activities of the farmers or hunters have not been restricted at this stage. "We don't want to set up a no-hunt zone because the population of wild boars would accumulate then and, paradoxically, we would lay the groundwork for the disease to spread," stated Bires. The SVPS director added that the latest case of the infected boar, found only 350 metres from the Slovak border, is the subject of deliberations by a national expert group on African swine fever. Based on its conclusions, measures might be taken to protect Slovakia.