Russian watchdog sees high bird flu, African swine fever risks

MOSCOW, Aug 31 (PRIME) -- Outbreaks of highly pathogenic bird flu were registered in 14 central Russian regions in 2018, regions neighboring China and Mongolia are in a high-risk zone, a spokesperson of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Oversight said on Friday.

The situation with African swine fever is also poor, the authority said. “The epizootic situation with African swine fever remains tense on the territory of the Russian Federation, no region of the Russian Federation is immune to contraction of the virus.”

The disease has been registered in 17 regions this year. July traditionally saw a peak in the number of sick animals as small private farms started illegal sales.

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