Estonian pig farmer wants African swine fever samples tested at foreign lab
Nearly 4,500 domestic pigs suspected of African swine fever (ASF) virus infection at a Viljandi County farm will be culled Saturday — just before the end of the virus' incubation period — despite 30 additional samples taken after the initial discovery testing negative. To prevent such mass cullings, the farm's operator is calling for suspected samples to be sent abroad for independent lab testing.
The presence of the ASF virus at the Saimre Agro Group-owned Nurme Farm in Viljandi Municipality was confirmed on July 29.
According to Olev Kalda, director of the Agriculture and Food Board's (PTA) Animal Health and Welfare Department, the sample that tested positive was analyzed in the lab three times, and a few days later, a new sample from the same animal also tested strongly positive.
"We've found a virus-positive pig there, which means the live virus is present at the farm," Kalda explained. "There has been movement within the farm, the virus has certainly spread further and it's highly likely other animals have also been infected."
Saimre Agro Group CEO Valmar Haava, however, says all subsequent samples taken over the course of a week came back negative.
"As of today, we've taken 25 plus five samples from the farm, all of which have come back negative," he noted.
Because the later samples did not confirm ASF, Haava asked the PTA to order additional tests from an independent foreign laboratory.
"We've received conflicting answers [from the agency] — at one point, that they'll send them, and then again, that actually they won't," he said. "We're not doubting the accuracy of the Estonian lab's analyses, we just want to be sure and prevent this mass slaughter."
According to Kalda, the PTA hasn't refused this.
"The agency trusts our National Center for Laboratory Research and Risk Assessment (LABRIS), which has been accredited at a very high level," he explained. "The EU Reference Laboratory has also evaluated its work and confirmed its operations as compliant with requirements."
As a result, all pigs at Nurme Farm will be culled.
At Saimre Agro Group, Haava doesn't understand why the culling is scheduled for this coming Saturday, just a couple of days before the end of the ASF incubation period.
"The proposal is to keep the animals in quarantine until the end of the incubation period," he said. "That way we can be sure that the virus isn't present in our hog house."
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Aili Vahtla
