Especially critical is the situation in Romania, where Achs in a short time struck many small farms in the Danube Delta and was also detected on large farms with population of 140 000 pigs. Only in Romania is currently affected 785 farms. Still, it killed more than 123,000 animals. The most affected are the South and South-East of the country near the borders with Bulgaria and Ukraine, and to a lesser extent the North-Western regions near the border with Hungary.

According to the head of the Romanian Department of veterinary and food safety branescu Geronimo, the ASF reached the greatest extent since the Second world war. The cause of its occurrence in the country - the illegal import of meat.

With the increasing number of foci in Eastern Europe there is growing pressure on Germany. "We are experiencing growing tensions in connection with the risk of virus outbreak in Germany," - said Vice-President of the Institute of Friedrich Leffler Professor Franz Konrad. "Detection of African swine fever in neighbouring regions such as the Czech Republic, Poland (particularly in the area of Warsaw) or Kaliningrad oblast suggests that the spread of the pathogen was not due to wild boar, and human actions."

The only positive European example of anti virus Konrads believes the Czech Republic where, thanks to stringent measures, from April 2018 new cases arose. "The Czech approach is considered the benchmark for Germany," - said the expert. "Nevertheless, despite the absence of new outbreaks in the Czech Republic, to speak about a victory before the pathogen can remain in the environment for a very long time."

Suffered from Achs are now eight Eastern European countries and Russia. Epidemic cases from Russia are not included in the European statistics. The first outbreak of the virus in China was reported in August. Based on the analysis, the researchers suggest that the pathogen was imported from Russia to China, probably through the transport of animals.

Photo: vedomosti-ua.com