June 28, 2024

 

3,350 swine killed due to ASF in Mizoram, India

With 160 more swine killed by African swine fever (ASF) in Mizoram, India, the death toll of swine following the outbreak of the disease in the state since February 2024 has crossed 3,350, officials said, Tripura Times reported.

 

Officials in the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary (AHV) Department reported that recent swine deaths occurred mainly in the districts of Saitual, Aizawl, Serchhip, and Khawzawl.

 

To prevent further spread of the contagious disease, at least 300 swine were culled, raising the total number of swine culled in the state this year to 6,504.

 

Pigs in at least 120 villages across six districts – Aizawl, Champhai, Lunglei, Saitual, Khawzawl, and Serchhip – have been infected by the ASF outbreak so far.

 

AHV officials stated that 33,420 swine and piglets died due to ASF in 2021, 12,800 in 2022, and 1,040 in 2023. The first case of ASF in Mizoram was reported in mid-March 2021 from Lungsen village in Lunglei district along the Bangladesh border. Since then, the disease has resurfaced every year.

 

Under the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Disease in Animals Act, 2009, the department has declared various villages and localities in the six districts as infected areas following the ASF outbreak.

 

Due to the fast spread of the infection, the department has barred the supply of swine, piglets, and pork from infected areas. The state government has also banned the import of pigs and piglets from neighbouring states and countries where ASF infestations are reported.

 

Officials noted that ASF outbreaks mostly occur when the climate begins to warm up and pre-monsoon rains commence in the state.

 

The government has so far provided compensation to over 3,000 families for the loss of pigs due to the disease. According to experts, the ASF outbreak may have been caused by pigs or pork brought from neighbouring Myanmar, Bangladesh, and the adjoining states of the northeast.

 

-      Tripura Times