Estonia to cull pigs to stop spread of African swine fever

Estonian authorities say they will cull about 3,700 pigs to prevent the spread of African swine fever.

Agriculture ministry spokeswoman Karin Volmer says two more cases of the disease have been found in domestic pigs in southern Estonia, the northernmost of the three Baltic countries.

Volmer said Wednesday a total of 15,700 pigs have been killed in Estonia to prevent the spread of the disease since the first case was reported there on July 21.

Unlike swine flu, the disease doesn't affect humans, but it can be deadly for domestic and wild boars, and cause massive losses to the farming sector.

Since 2014, dozens of cases have been reported on farms and in wild boars in the Baltic countries and Poland, prompting Russia to ban EU pork imports.

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