1.   A swine fever outbreak this year in the Netherlands led to a European Union ban on the export of pigs and pig sperm from the Netherlands.

2.   The European Union head office said it will decide Friday whether to ban pig exports from the Netherlands to counter a widening swine fever outbreak.

3.   The European Union says it will decide Friday whether to ban pig exports from the Netherlands to counter a widening swine fever outbreak.

4.   The swine fever outbreak began in February when cases were reported in the southern province of Brabant, where there is a high concentration of farms.