News Analysis India

Tag: African Swine Fever

  • 85 pigs die of African swine fever in fortnight in Madhya Pradesh’s Katni

    By PTI

    KATNI: At least 115 pigs were found infected with African swine fever and 85 of them have died in the last 15 days in Madhya Pradesh’s Katni district, an official said on Tuesday.

    Following the sudden deaths of pigs, samples were sent to a laboratory in Bhopal for testing on October 27, government veterinarian Dr R K Soni said.

    The reports revealed that the animals had suffered from African swine fever, he said.

    As many as 85 out of 115 infected pigs have died in the last 15 days, the official said.

    African swine fever is a highly infectious haemorrhagic viral disease that affects pigs, but is not transmitted from animals to humans.

    All precautions have been taken and pig farmers have been alerted about the spread of disease, Dr Soni said.

    KATNI: At least 115 pigs were found infected with African swine fever and 85 of them have died in the last 15 days in Madhya Pradesh’s Katni district, an official said on Tuesday.

    Following the sudden deaths of pigs, samples were sent to a laboratory in Bhopal for testing on October 27, government veterinarian Dr R K Soni said.

    The reports revealed that the animals had suffered from African swine fever, he said.

    As many as 85 out of 115 infected pigs have died in the last 15 days, the official said.

    African swine fever is a highly infectious haemorrhagic viral disease that affects pigs, but is not transmitted from animals to humans.

    All precautions have been taken and pig farmers have been alerted about the spread of disease, Dr Soni said.

  • Over 100 pigs die due to suspected African swine fever in Ranchi, alert sounded

    By PTI

    RANCHI: With more than 100 pigs dead in Ranchi district since July 27 due to suspected swine fever, the Jharkhand animal husbandry department (AHD) has sounded the alert and asked the others to take precautionary measures, a government official said on Saturday.

    Samples from affected pigs have been sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Disease in Bhopal and Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Kolkata to diagnose the actual disease, he said.

    “Pig deaths have so far been reported only in Ranchi district.

    However, we have issued an advisory to all districts to take precautionary measures and follow COVID-19 like protocol in case of similar occurance,” state animal husbandry director Shashi Prakash Jha told PTI.

    The department has also initiated swine fever vaccination drives, he said.

    “We have also asked that the sick animal should be isolated and handled with proper protection,” Jha added. At the Kanke-based government pig breeding farm here, about 70 pigs have died so far. There are around 1100 pigs, including 760 full grown ones in the farm.

    Ranchi animal husbandry officer Anil Kumar said around 40 pig deaths have been reported from Chanho area, besides McCluskieganj and Khalari areas.

    Institute of Animal Health and Production director, Vipin Bihari Mahta, told PTI “Such kind of disease has been reported for the first time in Jharkhand.

    The symptoms are more like that of African swine fever.

    The deaths are sudden.

    The animals get symptom of fever, stop eating and die soon after”.

    He said that since actual treatment and vaccine for the disease is still unknown, symptom based treatment is being provided.

    “The disease cannot be confirmed until we get the laboratory report from Bhopal,” Mahta said.

    The staff of the animal farms have been asked to take all precautionary measures while handling the animals.

    “Till now it does not seem the disease will affect humans as there are no symptoms among the people working in the animal farms.

    But, we have alerted the farm workers, he said.

    RANCHI: With more than 100 pigs dead in Ranchi district since July 27 due to suspected swine fever, the Jharkhand animal husbandry department (AHD) has sounded the alert and asked the others to take precautionary measures, a government official said on Saturday.

    Samples from affected pigs have been sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Disease in Bhopal and Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Kolkata to diagnose the actual disease, he said.

    “Pig deaths have so far been reported only in Ranchi district.

    However, we have issued an advisory to all districts to take precautionary measures and follow COVID-19 like protocol in case of similar occurance,” state animal husbandry director Shashi Prakash Jha told PTI.

    The department has also initiated swine fever vaccination drives, he said.

    “We have also asked that the sick animal should be isolated and handled with proper protection,” Jha added. At the Kanke-based government pig breeding farm here, about 70 pigs have died so far. There are around 1100 pigs, including 760 full grown ones in the farm.

    Ranchi animal husbandry officer Anil Kumar said around 40 pig deaths have been reported from Chanho area, besides McCluskieganj and Khalari areas.

    Institute of Animal Health and Production director, Vipin Bihari Mahta, told PTI “Such kind of disease has been reported for the first time in Jharkhand.

    The symptoms are more like that of African swine fever.

    The deaths are sudden.

    The animals get symptom of fever, stop eating and die soon after”.

    He said that since actual treatment and vaccine for the disease is still unknown, symptom based treatment is being provided.

    “The disease cannot be confirmed until we get the laboratory report from Bhopal,” Mahta said.

    The staff of the animal farms have been asked to take all precautionary measures while handling the animals.

    “Till now it does not seem the disease will affect humans as there are no symptoms among the people working in the animal farms.

    But, we have alerted the farm workers, he said.

  • Mizoram bans import of pigs, pork products amid fresh African Swine Fever outbreak

    By PTI

    AIZAWL: The Mizoram government banned the import of pigs and pork products after new cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) were detected in the state, as per an official notification.

    There will be a complete ban on the import of live pigs, fresh pork and all other pork products, including frozen pork, from other states and other countries until further orders, said the notification issued on Saturday.

    The Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department will ensure mandatory disinfection of pig-rearing premises and enforce strict hygiene measures and isolation of suspected pigs, it said.

    The department will also ensure the safe disposal of pig carcass in accordance with the National Action Plan for Control, Containment and Eradication of African Swine Fever, it added.

    The government also issued helpline numbers — 0389-2336441, 9436142908, 9436151203 and 8794206212 — for immediate reporting of any unusual mortality of pigs.

    Mizoram had on February 1 lifted the ban on the import of pigs and pork products, 17 months after it was imposed in August 2020, as the outbreak of ASF was contained with no cases reported since December last year.

    In the latest wave, 384 pig deaths have been reported. The latest deaths were reported from across five districts, as per officials. ASF had claimed the lives of 33,417 pigs between March and November last year, causing losses of Rs 60.82 crore.

    A total of 10,910 pigs were culled last year to prevent the spread of the disease.

  • Mizoram: 25,000 pigs die of African Swine Fever in 5 months, causing Rs 121 crore loss

    By PTI

    AIZAWL: The African Swine Fever (ASF) has claimed the lives of over 25,000 pigs in five months since late March in Mizoram, causing a loss of more than Rs 121 crore, a senior official of the state animal husbandry and veterinary science department said on Sunday.

    Altogether 9,458 pigs have been culled so far to prevent the viral disease from spreading further.

    “At least 239 villages or areas across 11 districts are currently affected by the ASF outbreak causing a monetary loss to the tune of Rs 121.49 crore,” Joint Director (Livestock Health) of the department, Dr Lalhmingthanga, said.

    With 130 pigs succumbing to the disease on Sunday, the number of fatalities has reached 25,256 and the loss incurred thus is Rs 88.39 crore, he said.

    The cost of culled pigs is Rs 33.10 crore, the official said.

    However, the total loss would be higher as this is just an approximate value and over 1,000 pigs also died of the disease outside the 239 villages.

    Of the 11 districts of Mizoram, Aizawl is the worst-affected registering at least 10,766 pig deaths, followed by Lunglei at 4,129 and Serchhip at 3,490, Lalhmingthanga said.

    The ASF outbreak is believed to be caused by pigs or pork imported from Myanmar, Bangladesh and neighbouring states like Meghalaya.

    Experts said ASF is not a threat to human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans.

    The first outbreak of suspected ASF was reported at Lungsen village in south Mizoram’s Lunglei district near the Bangladesh border on March 21.

    Later in mid-April, the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal confirmed that the pig deaths were due to ASF.

  • African Swine Fever continues to wreak havoc in Mizoram

    By PTI
    AIZAWL: African Swine Fever (ASF) continues to wreak havoc in the livestock sector in Mizoram affecting as many as 10 out of the total 11 districts and killing more than 9,000 pigs in a little over three months, according to states animal husbandry and veterinary science department.

    According to data released by the department on Sunday, at least 152 villages or local areas in 10 districts are currently affected by the ASF outbreak causing a loss of over Rs.36.68 crore.

    “Unusual death” of 699 pigs has been reported from even outside ASF-infected areas, it said.

    The data also said that 1,078 pigs have been culled so far to prevent the disease from spreading further.

    The first pig death due to ASF was reported on March 21 at Lungsen village in south Mizorams Lunglei district bordering Bangladesh.

    Though the spread of ASF in Lunglei district has now become “less severe”, it began to ravage Aizawl district, which has borne the brunt of the disease with 3,454 pig deaths so far, according to the department joint director (livestock health) Dr.Lalhmingthanga.

    So far, the ASF has killed 3,092 pigs in Lunglei district, 684 in Mamit district, 939 in Serchhip district, 320 in Lawngtlai district, 334 in Khawzawl district, 83 in Hnahthial district, 257 in Champhai district, 8 in Saitual district, and 1 in Siaha district, he said.

    Only Kolasib district, which borders Assam, is ASF- free at present, he said.

    Lalhmingthanga said that a special diseases investigation team, which visited Lungsen village during April 5-8 found that pigs are illegally imported from Bangladesh through villages like Tipperaghat and Khojoysury located near the Bangladesh border.

    Illegal pig traders use Lungsen village for keeping the animals there before moving them to Lunglei market, he said.

    The senior official said that the president of the Rolui village council had informed that an outbreak of an unknown disease had killed several pigs in Bangladesh villages along the India border in February 2021.

    Lalhmingthanga further said that the ASF outbreak in Aizawl district and east Mizorams Champhai district is believed to be caused by pigs or pork imported from Meghalaya and Myanmar respectively.

    Mizoram shares inter-state borders with Assam, Manipur, and Tripura and also international boundaries with Bangladesh and Myanmar.

    ASF is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease, affecting both domestic and feral swine of all ages.

    Experts said that it is not a threat to human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans.

    No vaccine is available for the virus to date.

  • Over 100 pigs die in Mizoram village, African swine fever suspected

    By Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Over 100 domestic pigs died in a Mizoram village and preliminary tests indicated African swine fever (ASF) as the cause of the deaths.

    Official sources said preventive measures were being taken to contain the spread of the disease.

    “There is an outbreak of the disease in Lungsen in Lunglei district. Over 100 pigs died till yesterday (Wednesday),” Mizoram’s Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Dr Hmarkunga told this newspaper on Thursday.

    He said as a part of the preventive measures, the import and export of pigs to and fro the village had been restricted.

    “As of now, the outbreak is only in one village. Our further investigations are going on,” Hmarkunga added.

    Lunglei shares a border with Myanmar but the village in question is not on the border.

    The disease was detected following sample-testing at the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry in Selesih in the state.

    Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department Joint Director Dr Lalhmingthanga said ASF was suspected to be the cause of the pig deaths. The department has sent samples to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Disease in Bhopal for a confirmatory test.

    Thousands of domestic pigs had died of the disease in Assam last year. Dozens of others had died in neighbouring Meghalaya. The ASF is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease. It is not a threat to human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans. 

  • 87 pigs die in Mizoram village near Bangladesh border, panic over Swine Flu suspicion

    By PTI
    AIZAWL: More than 80 pigs died in south Mizoram’s Lunglei district over the last two weeks, triggering panic in the area that is near the Bangladesh border, an official said on Sunday.

    The 87 deaths, which happened in the Lungsen village, have caused losses to the tune of Rs 40 lakh, he said.

    “Though the cause of the deaths is yet to be ascertained, it is suspected that the animals died due to African Swine Fever (ASF),” said Lalhmingthanga, the Joint Director of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department.

    The first death was reported on March 21, following which veterinary officers were sent to the village to ascertain the cause, he said.

    As per the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on tissue samples and serum samples, the dead pigs were confirmed free of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) and Classical Swine Flu (CSF), he said.

    The confirmatory test for ASF is yet to be done at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Madhya Pradesh, Lalhmingthanga said.

    The preliminary test will be done at the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry on Monday to ascertain whether the dead pigs are suspected to be infected with AFS, he said.

    The government has already sounded alert for ASF in the state and declared Lungsen village as an infected area with prohibitory orders clamped under CrPC Section 144 on April 2, the official said.

    Though the actual disease is yet to be confirmed, the measure is being taken in accordance with ASF Prevention and Containment National Action Plan, he said.

    An investigation team led by Animal Husbandry and Veterinary (Disease Investigation and Epidemiology) Deputy Director M Zohmingthangi will visit Lungsen village on Monday to stake stock of the situation, he said.

    The team will collect tissue and blood samples to be sent for tests, the official said.

    Lalhmingthanga said that the disease was suspected to be transmitted through the import of pigs and smoked pig meat from the neighbouring states, and Bangladesh.

    The first death was reported near hotels where imported pig meats were largely consumed.

    Mizoram was hit by PRRS in 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2020, killing thousands of pigs and piglets, causing losses to the tune of Rs 10.62 crore.

    So far, the state has not reported any outbreak of African Swine Fever.