ASF outbreak detected in Lida district

The riot police cordoned off the village of Belitsa in the Lida district, Hrodna region.

Nasha Niva newspaper received this information from a reader.

“My girlfriend lives in that village. A pig died in the village and the owner informed the veterinary service. The village was cordoned off by the police and riot police yesterday. Pigs were taken away for slaughter. People were offered 16,000 per kilogramme. People were in panic. Police officers checked my girlfriend's bag as she was leaving the village – carrying meat outside the village is prohibited,” the reader wrote.

Viktar Pasternak, the chair of the Belitsa rural council, refused to speak about the African swine fever virus.

“Contact the veterinary station. I don't know if it is ASF or not,” he said.

Officers of the veterinary station of the Lida district confirmed that the ASF outbreak had been detected in the village of Belitsa.

“Yes, the outbreak was detected, but the disease was stopped,” they said. The veterinary station declined to give any details.