Croatia has been officially declared free of the so-called Classical Swine Fever, the country's Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday, allowing the lifting of a 2013 EU-wide ban on the sale of pigs and pork from Croatia.

“The European Commission’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed decided in a meeting held on September 25, 2019, to lift the marketing restrictions for pigs from Croatia, which had been imposed in 2013. This is the result of the long-term implementation of comprehensive veterinary measures to monitor, control, and eradicate this disease among (Croatia’s) population of domestic pigs and wild boars,” the statement carried by state agency Hina said.

Classical Swine Fever (CSF), also known as “hog cholera” or “pig plague,” is a contagious disease affecting domestic pigs and wild boars. Caused by a virus, the disease causes skin lesions, convulsions, and fever in infected animals.

According to the agriculture ministry, the last known case of the disease in domestic pigs in Croatia was confirmed in March 2008.