Officials have found foot-and-mouth disease in the east Siberian region of Zabaikalsky, Russia's Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection Service said Tuesday.
The virus affected cattle and pigs at private farms, service spokesman Alexei Alekseyenko said, adding that measures to prevent the disease from spreading have been taken.
"It was an Asian type of virus. Now we are checking on how it got into Russia," Alekseyenko said. The Zabaikalsky region borders China and Mongolia.
Last time Russia found foot-and-mouth disease was about a year ago in the Primorye region some 45 kilometers from the border with China.
Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly infectious and sometimes fatal disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, buffalo and pigs.
(Reuters)
