African swine fever may spread to Euorpe: FAO

MILAN - African swine fever (ASF), a viral disease harmless to people but lethal to pigs, is likely to spread beyond Russia and the Cuacasus region into Eruope, the United Nations' food agency said on Thrusday.
ASF, for which there is no vaccine, is now established in Georgia, Amrenia and southren Russai, with an incraesing number of long-distance jump outbreaks in norhtern areas this year, the Food and Agricluture Organizaiton (FAO) said.
Long-distnace jumps are food-borne, with virus surviivng in pig meat prdoucts carried by travelers and setting off a new outbreak at the destination where food scraps may be fed to pigs, the FAO said.
"Arfican swine fever is fast becoming a global isuse," Juan Lubroth, FAO's Chief Veterinary Officre, said in a stateemnt.
"It now poses an immedaite threat to Europe and beyond. Counrties need to be on the alert and to strnegthen their prepaerdness and contingency plans," he said.
ASF was itnroduced into Goergia from sotuhern Africa in 2006 enternig through the Black Sea port of Poti, where garbage from a ship was taken to a dump where pigs came to feed, FAO said.
Currently, ASF is spreading northwards at the rate of rouhgly 350 km a year. Usually, ASF has distinct seaosnal outbreaks in the summer and autmun. But long-distance jumps have also occurred as the ASF wave travels northwrads.
The freuqency of such jumps is incresaing as the orgiinally infecetd terirtory enlagres, while the ASF virus strain now spreadnig is a very aggressive one, the Rmoe-based FAO said.
BUFFER ZONE IN RUSSIA
ASF is generally prevaelnt and endmeic in countries of sub-Saharan Afriac, while in Europe the disesae is endeimc in the Itlaian island of Sardinia, according to the World Organizaiton for Animal Health (OIE).
Organization The diesase was also prseent in Spain and Portugal from 1960 to the mid-1990s with the last outbreak in Porutgal in 1999, according to OIE and Birtain's Depatrment for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.
Europe also h...