April 24, 2020

Swine fever kills 1,300 pigs in India's Assam

The Assam government of India has dispatched teams of veterinary doctors following death reports of around 1,300 pigs in the state's five districts, reported Hindustan Times.

The deaths, attributed due to classical swine fever, in Jorhat, Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Nagaon districts within a span of one week have hit the pig farmers hard, who are already reeling under the impact of the lockdown imposed to stop the spread of the COVID-19.

The teams of doctors have been asked to probe the reason for the sudden outbreak of classical swine fever and suggest remedial measures, according to Atul Bora, the state agriculture and animal husbandry minister.

Dhireshwar Kalita, principal scientist at Assam Agriculture University (AAU), told journalists that the deaths were due to classical swine fever and not swine flu, or H1N1.

"Classical swine fever is a viral disease, which attacks pigs at this time of the year. However, this year the attack has been severe resulting in the death of a large number of pigs and mounting losses for farmers," said Manoj Basumatary, president, North East Progressive Pig Farmers' Association (NEPPFA).

Classical swine fever afflicts only pigs and not humans. The outbreak can be prevented through vaccination, he added.

"Swine flu, or H1NI, is a flu that affects humans. The outbreak lasted between January 2009 and August 2010. The H1N1 flu virus can't be spread by consuming pork products even though it is informally called swine flu," Basumatary said.

Assam has the highest pig population in the country. The north-east consumes over 65% of the country's total pork production and the region's pork meat business is estimated to be around INR75,000 crore, according to the 20th livestock census data from 2012 to 2018.