The Norwegian Food Safety Authority warns against bringing pork from Eastern Europe

Pigs, MRSA bacteria Pig FarmerFree range pigs, a rarety in modern farmong. Photo: pixabay.com

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority fears that the disease, African swine fever, will come to Norway and warns people about traveling to Eastern Europe for bringing pork meat products.

African swine fever is a dreaded disease that spreads between pigs. The virus has recently spread to Europe, and now the authorities are doing everything they can to prevent the disease from entering Norway.

“This is an animal disease that we are very worried about coming to Norway. So far we see that it is spreading slowly but surely from the Baltics, and it has been discovered as far west as Belgium,” says section head of animal health Anne Marie Jahr at the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.

The highly contagious disease is fatal to pigs, and there is no treatment or vaccination. African swine fever is not dangerous to humans.

The Food Safety Authority asks people who have been traveling in Eastern Europe not to bring pork meat products home, and that they stay away from pig farms right after they return home. The virus is referred to as hardy and can survive long in the soil or in foods. For the same reason, people are also warned not to throw food waste into nature.

In Denmark too, the authorities have implemented measures to prevent the disease from entering the country. The authorities have set aside NOK 42 million to build a seven-mile-long fence along the border with Germany. This is done to prevent extraneous wild boar that may be carriers of the infection from entering the country.

In China, 200,000 pigs were recently slaughtered in an attempt to stop the spread of infection.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today