The manual “African swine fever: detection and diagnosis” for veterinarians written by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has already been translated into the Lithuanian language. The objective of this manual is to provide information to veterinarians, veterinary assistants and staff of diagnostic laboratories to enable them to diagnose African swine fever (ASF) in due time and respond to outbreaks of the disease or individual cases. Furthermore, pig producers, hunters and foresters will also find useful information in this manual.
General details on this disease and its causes, including epizootology, modes of transmission and geographical distribution are provided in the Manual. Information on ASF detection and diagnosis – from field diagnosis (clinical signs, autopsy data and differential diagnosis) to laboratory confirmation (all major analysis methods for the virus and antibodies) is chronologically provided in the Manual. 
Recommendations on how to select samples, how to pack them and transport them to the laboratory as well as emergency actions to be performed in a pig house upon suspicion of an outbreak of the disease are provided. African swine fever is a contagious viral disease, which infects pigs of any age and which causes a haemorrhagic fever. The disease usually has an acute form and up to 100% of infected pigs die. There is no effective vaccine or method of treatment, therefore, early detection of the virus and prompt reaction to outbreaks of the disease are crucial. Major role in this matter is played by veterinarians and other specialists who are the first to encounter with this disease.
The Manual in the electronic form can be downloaded at the following link: http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/I7228LT. This week, three experts from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea will be conducting audit in the field of control on poultry meat and its products.
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This audit is an important step in coordinating the permissions for Lithuanian poultry establishments to export their production to South Korea. At the State Food and Veterinary Service, the experts will get acquainted with the official veterinary control carried out in our country, requirements and control standards applied, documentation. At the National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute, the specialists from South Korea are going to have a deeper insight into the analyses performed and their procedures. The experts are going to visit territorial State Food and Veterinary Services, poultry farms, a poultry slaughter and cutting plant, a refrigerated warehouse for meat where the practical operation of the food safety and control system is going to be assessed. Lithuanian producers already export milk products and pet food to South Korea. This year alone, more than 1400 t of milk products (cheese, curds, butter, milk sugar, ice cream), pet food for dogs and cats (302 t), etc. Has been exported to this country in Asia.
The State Food and Veterinary Service has received information from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan that the National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute had been included in the list of accredited laboratories where the analysis for the effectiveness of vaccination against rabies can be performed for pet animals to be transported to Japan. This is substantial facilitation for owners of pet animals who wish to travel to Japan together with their pets. Up to now, persons who export pet animals or travel with them to another country have had to make tests for rabies at laboratories in other countries, which are included in the list of accredited laboratories of Japan. Furthermore, on 1 November this year, the coordination of the certification procedures for export of pet animals or for travelling with them was finalised.
Thus, the inclusion of the National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute into the list of accredited testing laboratories for rabies and the agreement on necessary veterinary documents makes the travelling from Lithuania to Japan together with pet animals as well as trading in pet animals possible. The dogs and cats to be transported to Japan have to be identified by transponders (microchips) and at least twice vaccinated against rabies, the testing for rabies antibodies must have been performed and the animals must have stayed in quarantine for 180 days. Moreover, the animals must have got certificates issued by competent veterinary authorities of the exporting country. The State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS) hereby informs that pursuant to Article 14(7) of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Budgetary Institutions and Resolution No 1036 of the Government of Lithuania of 10 October 2018 “On the agreement to reorganise the State Animal Breeding Supervision Service under the Ministry of Agriculture”, the State Animal Breeding Supervision Service under the Ministry of Agriculture (SABSS) shall be reorganised and incorporated into the SFVS, which will take over all the rights and duties of the SABSS. The details of the budgetary institution subject to the reorganisation – SABSS: 1. Legal form – budgetary institution, 2.