May 11, 2009
Pigs in western Indian state died of swine fever, not AH1N1
Dairy development and animal husbandry minister Raviseth Patil on Tuesday (May 5) said the death of pigs in a section of villages in Jalgaon district, Maharashtra state, was from swine fever, a result of high temperatures.
Panic spread in north Maharashtra following the sudden death of a large number of pigs, prompting the authorities to take action.
Samples were sent to the state's disease investigation section as well as Bareilly-based Indian veterinary research institute.
According to a senior official, following reports of the death of a large number of pigs, people all over the state panicked as they assumed the casualties were the result of AH1N1 flu, confirming that deaths were from swine fever.
The official added that swine fever is a highly infectious disease of pigs characterised by acute or chronic illness, and mortality rate is usually over 90 percent whereas in the case of AH1N1, the mortality rate ranges between 5 percent and 10 percent.
