African Swine Fever has been detected in Poland, following the discovery of the disease in Lithuania in January.

Poland's deputy chief veterinary officer, Dr Krzysztof Jazdzewski, announced on Monday that a wild boar found dead in Eastern Poland had tested positive for ASF. The boar was found in the far east of Podlaskie province, on the border with Belarus.

The Polish agriculture ministry notified the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) of the outbreak immediately. The disease has not yet been discovered in domestic pigs in any EU country.

When ASF was detected in two wild boar carcases from Lithuania, to the north-east of Poland, earlier this year, Russia suspended imports of EU pig meat. However, EU leaders criticised Russian authorities for overreacting; ASF outbreaks have been reported in Russia since 2007.

Last week, two more wild boar found dead on a game farm in Tula, South-west Russia tested positive for ASF.

Also last week, farming minister George Eustace promised that Border Force officers will be paying special attention to passengers returning from the Winter Olympics in Sochi, in a bid to prevent African swine fever entering Britain via contaminated meat products.

The virus causes fever and haemorrhaging in domestic pigs, which can die within a week of infection. It has a high mortality rate, and even milder infections are extremely serious.