"The ban on the movement of pigs, pig semen, ova and embryos from Slovakia to other European Union (EU) member states and third countries is maintained, pending the completion of epidemiological investigations," an EU statement said.
The EC however allowed pigs to be moved from farm-to-farm and from farm-to-slaughter within Slovakia under certain condition given the fact that Slovak authorities had taken "very rigorous measures to control the disease".
Two outbreaks of classical swine fever have been reported in two commercial pig farms in Slovakia. All pigs in the two farms-around 20,000 in total, are being culled.
Swine fever, which kills pigs but is harmless to humans, last hit Slovakia in 2005. The number of pigs to be culled in the latest outbreak is significantly higher than the 5,914 that were killed in 2004.
