Russia announced this afternoon that a ban is on for pork and pork products crossing the border from European Union countries in wake of the swine fever outbreak in Lithuania, informs PRIME/LETA.

The ban will continue until Moscow receives safety guarantees from the European Commission about possible spread of the disease to countries bordering Lithuania.

State Food and Veterinary Service of the Republic of Lithuania informs that testing results received from the European Union Reference Laboratory in Spain confirmed that virus strain determined for the two wild boars in Lithuania is identical to African swine fever virus circulating in Russia and Belarus, writes LETA/ELTA.

The sampling of wild boars and pigs and testing of the samples for the African and Classical swine fever has been intensified in the National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute.

This week, a group of specialists from the European Union, Russia and Belarus is working at the State Food and Veterinary Service. The group analyses possible causes for African swine fever outbreak in Alytus-Varena and Salcininkai districts and protection and prevention measures applied in Lithuania. It is also aimed to plan further actions to prevent virus spread.

The African swine fever is a very dangerous, highly contagious viral disease that affects pigs and wild boars; however, it is harmless to humans.