The pig farmer of the unit in Paliometocho was informed of the positive case by a phone call from his son, while until Wednesday evening he had no other official information from the Veterinary Services, the President of the Cyprus Pig Farmers Association, Petros Kailas, told CNA on Thursday.
Mr. Kailas reported that the case was detected in a pig farm on the borders of Paliometochos, on the west side of Nicosia airport, right on the border with the Dead Zone.
He said that there are three premises in the area, which belong to three brothers and operate as separate units, with the one where the case was detected being adjacent to the others. He added that there are a total of around four to five thousand animals in this unit and expressed the hope that the others will not be affected.
According to Mr. Kailas, when he contacted the unit's managers, he was informed that for the past two days there had been symptoms of illness and animal deaths, which is why they called the veterinarians themselves, who took samples for examination.
He added that, while the information about the positive result was already being broadcast by the media since Wednesday afternoon, the pig farmer himself had not been given, as he said, anything more than the phone call his son received.
Mr. Kailas also said that on Thursday morning the area was unguarded, without the area being cordoned off.
Regarding the possible impacts on the market, he noted that it is too early to tell whether prices will be affected, adding, however, that even if on a Cyprus-wide basis the percentage is small, for each affected party individually the damage is great.
Source: KYPE
