African swine fever cases plateau in Estonia
The number of pigs infected or suspected of being infected with African swine fever in Estonia has remained at 55,000 for a week, the Agriculture and Food Board said.
"Fortunately, the number of infected pigs is the same as a week ago," said Olev Kalda, head of the animal health and welfare department at the Agriculture and Food Board (PTA).
"At this point, we can speak of 10 outbreaks among domestic pigs. Work is currently underway to eliminate one of them, at EKSEKO's farrowing unit. In total, more than 55,000 pigs have been affected by the disease — they are either infected or considered suspected cases and therefore must be culled or are still in the process of being culled," Kalda said.
"At EKSEKO, a total of 27,000 animals were infected. So far, about 4,500 of them have been culled over the course of eight days," he added.
According to Kalda, the culling at EKSEKO is proceeding as planned.
"AS Vireen is handling the culling there, but already last weekend carcass processing took place at two companies: both at Vireen and at Atria Eesti's waste management unit," Kalda said.
Vireen can manage the culling and processing according to its capacity, Kalda noted.
"Atria has the capacity to handle up to 24 tons per day over four days. Vireen's capacity has already increased — we have agreed that they will cull and process more animals per day. The amount of animals going to processing has ranged from 70 to 100 tons daily. Out of the 27,000 animals, 4,500 have already been culled and sent for processing," Kalda said.
But with current capacity, carcass processing will still take time. "We have also been looking for additional disposal methods and will continue to do so. Unfortunately, the Lithuanian authorities declined, as they did not consider it possible to transport culled pigs from Estonia to Lithuania. They refused to accept Estonian culled pigs as a precautionary measure," Kalda said.
PTA still tight-lipped regarding Iru power plant option
No decision has yet been made on whether to also bury pig carcasses. "A burial site for culled pigs is being prepared in Põhja-Sakala Municipality, but whether to proceed with burial or not — that decision has not yet been made," Kalda said.
When such a decision might come is difficult to say, according to Kalda, as it depends on several factors.
"It depends on the clinical picture, for example at EKSEKO. At the moment, the situation is calmer, there are fewer deaths, meaning the disease is not progressing very acutely. If the situation changes at EKSEKO, additional options will certainly need to be considered. Extra measures will also need to be considered if a new outbreak emerges," Kalda said.
At the same time, there are very few options to send culled pigs abroad for processing.
"Distance also comes into play here. We've looked into possibilities in neighboring countries, but the results are exactly what they are," Kalda said.
Last week, it was reported that the PTA had approached Eesti Energia and received consent to test pig incineration at the Iru cogeneration plant. On Wednesday, however, the agency did not want to discuss the test results in detail.
"A test was carried out at Iru, but the results are still being compiled and discussed with stakeholders. They will be made public at a press conference on Friday," Kalda said.
The PTA is not considering any further alternative options in Estonia for pig disposal. "We have not identified or seriously considered any additional options," Kalda said.
Compensation for losses caused by halting production and destroying output due to African swine fever has been tied to compliance with biosecurity requirements. For example, the state refused to pay compensation to meat producer Frank Kutter, which subsequently closed down.
"We are currently reviewing compensation decisions. Some decisions have been made regarding a few companies, but other applications have also been submitted. These are being processed, and before that is complete, it is impossible to say what the decision will be in any particular case — whether to compensate or not and on what grounds," Kalda said.
African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs, characterized by fever, hemorrhages, organ inflammation and high mortality. Other animal species and humans cannot be infected, but they can carry the virus. The virus can survive in the environment for up to a year and may not be destroyed even by heat treatment, meaning processed pork still carries a risk of spreading the infection.
--
Editor: Mari Peegel, Marcus Turovski
