Pigs began to die at the Lenin farm in the village of Kievka, in the Apanasenkovsky District, on March 15, and preliminary tests suggested an outbreak of the disease. Further tests on Thursday confirmed the deaths had been caused by African swine fever.
"A pre-investigation probe is currently being held," Yekaterina Danilova said, adding that investigators were concentrating on possible infringements of veterinary regulations.
The area has been quarantined, and the Emergency Situations Ministry has set up a local headquarters to control the spread of the virus. A total of 189 pigs were culled to prevent the disease from spreading.
This is the second outbreak of African swine fever in the Stavropol Region this year. In January, the virus was confirmed at a farm in the Kursky District. As a result, 2,600 pigs were slaughtered. Some 5,000 pigs were also culled or died from the virus last summer in Russia's North Ossetia.
The highly contagious virus was first registered in 1903 in South Africa. It does not pose a threat to humans.
