African Swine Flu reaches India

The Assam government on Sunday informed that the first case of African Swine Flu has been detected in the state that has killed more than 2500 pigs in 306 villages, as per media reports.

However, the state government maintained that they will not cull the population of pigs immediately even after the Centre gave the nod to it. The state government is mulling on alternative measures to contain the spread of the contagious disease, Assam Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister Atul Bora said at a press conference.He added that the disease has no relation at all with COVID-19. “The National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal, has confirmed that it is African Swine Flu (ASF). The central government has informed us that it is the first instance of the disease in the country,” Bora said.

According to Bora, the testing going on in three labs in Assam will not be enough to trace and contain the virus, and the administrative department has to contact the Health Department for the same.He, however, said the disease has not spread much yet, and around 2,500 pigs have died due to ASF across 306 villages in seven districts in the state.

The minister claimed that it never affects humans, adding that there is no problem in consuming pork from the areas where there is no infection. We will conduct awareness and training of farmers. We have selected 13 districts for this purpose.

He also said that the government has formed district-level committees to implement the guidelines such as pigs will not be allowed to roam freely and the farmers will have to keep them in enclosures.

Economictimes