SOFIA, Bulgaria – Officials in Bulgaria announced they will be culling pigs in certain areas of the country due to African Swine Fever (ASF). The latest location was a large breeding farm near Ruse in the northeast part of the country.

According to a Reuters report, this is the country’s 19^th  ASF case for Bulgarian pigs in farms or backyards.

“Another outbreak was detected at a large industrial farm in the village of Brashlеn with over 40,000 pigs,” said Alexandra Miteva, a senior official for the food safety authority to Reuters. She also said all pigs at this farm would be culled.

On July 21, another pig breeding farm in Ruse also reported an outbreak. All pigs at that farm in the village of Nikolovo were culled.

Native to Africa, ASF has spread to Eastern European and Asian countries over the last two years. It is a hemorrhagic disease of pigs, warthogs, European wild boar and American feral pigs. ASF is highly contagious, and swine of all age groups are susceptible to it. Currently, there are no vaccines against the disease.

Mortality rates in a swineherd can be as high as 100 percent, and death can occur within two to 10 days on average, according to the OIE. The virus isn’t harmful to humans and doesn’t represent a food safety risk.