After Arunachal, Assam and Mizoram highly contagious African Swine Fever (ASF) hit Tripura too.
The African Swine Fever was detected in the Animal Resources Development Department (ARDD)-run government breeding farm at Devipurin Sepahijala district. ARDD Minister Bhagaban Das while confirming the outbreak of African Swine Fever said, all necessary steps would now be taken, including mass execution of pigs to contain the spread of the disease reported a news outlet First Despatch. The pigs killing, however, would first be taken up in the farm and in one km radius of it in Sepahijala district.
The minister said that mass execution of pigs in such cases required some specific guidelines from the concerned authorities in the Centre. The state government was waiting for the guidelines to come , only after that the killing would start. The executed pigs would then be buried in big pit.
The minister said, alarmed by the deaths of about 65 pigs—including some exotic verities brought from England- in the farm for the last few days, the authorities sent samples from three pigs to the North Eastern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Guwahati for testing on April 13 last. On April 16 the Laboratory confirmed the prevalence of the African Swine Fever. The ARDD was also waiting for another report from Bhopal’s National Disease Diagnostic institute.
The ASF is a highly virulent strains, pigs may develop a high fever, but show no other noticeable symptoms for the first few days. They then gradually lose their appetites and become depressed. The virus can be transmitted by direct or indirect contact with infected pigs, faeces or body fluids. The virus may survive 11 days in pig faeces, and months or years in pork products.
A task force was formed with officials from the administration and the veterinary doctors including in-charge of ARDD’s Disease Investigation laboratory, Dr Mrinal Dutta and Subdivisional Magistrate of (SDM) Bishalgarh in Sipahijala district.
Earlier the disease surfaced in neighbouring Mizoram recently. On 29 April 2020, India reported the first African Swine Fever disease outbreak in the state of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
