A number of bodies of wild boars were discovered in the natural reserve “Pădurea Domnească” along the Prut River, westwards the districts of Glodeni and Fălești, and also in Râșcani district, near Braniște village, on the water of the Prut. The presence of the African swine fever was confirmed in samples taken in both of the cases.

Contacted by IPN for details, Vitalie Carauş, head of the National Food Safety Agency’s Animal Health and Wellbeing Division, said the outbreak in “Pădurea Domnească” is not new, but is secondary. Cases of African swine fever have been reported there since last December. The goal of specialists is to find bodies that can be a source of infection.

According to the specialist, the quarantine regime instituted in the area last December wasn’t lifted. That area is monitored by the Border Police and the persons do not have access to it. Some of the bodies are in a state of putrefaction, with the wild boars dying a month or two months ago. Over 100 wild boars have been found dead since last December.

Vitalie Carauş said sanitary-veterinary measures are taken to eradicate the hotbeds, including the burying of bodies and disinfection of the places where the animals were found. The disease didn’t spread to other wooded strips, like those in Hâncești or in Codrii Orheului.

As to the outbreak in Râșcani, the authorities presume those bodies could have come from the Romanian side as the colleagues in Romania informed that the African swine fever expanded all over the territory, including in Iasi County.

African swine fever is not dangerous to humans, but spreads swiftly among pigs. If the presence of the virus is confirmed, the animals are killed so as to prevent the spread of infection.