The suspected ASF case was reported by opposition outlet Belsat, citing a document from the Petrikov District Executive Committee. According to the source, the virus was allegedly detected in the village of Turok in the Gomel region, around 80 km north of the border with Ukraine.
At the same time, Belarusian state authorities have not officially reported a new outbreak and, as in previous similar cases, deny the presence of ASF in the country.
The information therefore remains unconfirmed by the official veterinary authorities.
Reports of a possible new case have once again renewed discussion about the effectiveness of ASF control measures in Belarus.
Independent agricultural analyst Alexander Nikolaevich told Belsat that culling animals and imposing restrictions alone cannot solve the problem without systematic prevention.
In his view, excessively strict bans may even complicate disease control, as animal owners may conceal suspected cases out of fear that their livestock will be culled or that they will face other sanctions.
The problem is particularly acute around large commercial pig farms. In nearby settlements, backyard pig keeping is often restricted within a radius of 3–5 km, but according to the expert, some residents continue to keep pigs unofficially.
If clinical signs appear, this may make owners less willing to contact veterinary services and, as a result, make early detection of the disease more difficult.
There is currently no official confirmation of ASF in the Gomel region, so it is too early to assess the scale of the possible outbreak or its impact on Belarus’s pig sector.
PigUA.info, based on materials from Belsat