African swine fever has been diagnosed in a village in southern Serbia, Belgrade-based Beta news agency reported.

It said that the disease was diagnosed at a farm in the village of Orlja outside the town of Pirot, adding that the local authorities have set up a quarantine area with a radius of three kilometers around the village. Pirot assistant Mayor Vidojko Panajotovic said that the area 10 kilometers around Orlja has been declared endangered, including some villages in the Bela Palanka municipality.

Regional animal health control official Miroljub Marjanovic told TV Pirto that the disease was spreading rapidly over the past week because farmers and hunters were not following the rules.

African Swine Fever was diagnosed in southern Serbia in October last year. The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) declared Serbia a country with a high risk of the disease late in 2020.