The Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday that African Swine Fever has been confirmed in three villages in the Mladenovac area.

A ministry press release said that a laboratory in Madrid confirmed the presence of the virus, adding that the affected areas had been placed under quarantine. Agriculture Minister Branislav Nedimovic signed an order banning the trade in swine and pork meat from the affected areas. The order includes a ban on herding swine in open areas.  

The minister said that all prevention measures are being implemented to prevent the virus from spreading 15 days earlier when experts from the Veterinary Institute suspected that the virus was present in the village of Rabrovac.  

The virus affects only domestic and wild pigs, the ministry said adding that the pigs in the affected areas were put down with the government compensating the owners.  

It said that the ban on imports of pork meat from Serbia is only a temporary measure taken by some countries.