Swine fever hits the UK
Exports of live pigs and porcine semen from England to the rest of the European Union are under restriction following reports of an outbreak of classical swine fever (CSF) in the UK. While the disease poses no risks to humans, it is a highly infectious virus in swine. The Commission decision applies until 31 August. The outbreak, which is confined to the East Anglia region in the UK, came to the Commission's attention on 8 August. The UK authorities have taken measures to control the disease, following Community guidelines provided in a Council Directive from 1980. These measures include establishing a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone around the infected premises, and a census of all holdings in both zones. Additionally the movement of live animals and vehicles on and off the premises in the previous two weeks will be traced. The UK authorities have since confirmed five cases of CSF in the East Anglia region. Officials from the European Commission and the UK authorities will meet at the end of the week to evaluate the situation and discuss how to proceed. Meanwhile, the Standing veterinary committee will review all the available information on the recent outbreak of CSF at a meeting scheduled for 22 August. By then it hopes to have a clearer picture of the extent of the outbreak and the effectiveness of the UK authorities' control measures. This is not the first time a Member State has reported an outbreak of the virus and similar restrictions have been adopted in the past in response to outbreaks in several other Member States.