After Mizoram, African swine fever strikes in Meghalaya
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Though 573 pigs are suspected to have died, the confirmed circumstances are 320.
After Mizoram, African swine fever (ASF) has struck in Meghalaya killing greater than 300 pigs.
Principal Secretary of the State’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, G.H.P. Raju mentioned 573 pigs are suspected to have died however the confirmed circumstances are 320.
“Most of the cases have been reported from the Khasi and Jaintia Hills in the eastern part of Meghalaya while two deaths have been reported in the Garo Hills covering the western party,” he instructed The Puucho from Shillong, including that the primary case was reported in the third week of April.
About 90 pigs died in a pig-breeding farm run by the Animal Husbandry Department in Nongstoin, headquarters of West Khasi Hills district.
Samples have been despatched to a specialised laboratory in Bhopal for confirmatory checks.
“We don’t know how the virus causing ASF struck Meghalaya again after a gap of five months. Between May and November 2020, farmers in the State lost 541 pigs due to ASF,” Mr. Raju mentioned, including that six locations have been declared as containment zones.
About 300 rural households are estimated to have been affected by ASF. Officials mentioned the financial influence has been big on poor farmers as livestock insurance coverage doesn’t cowl the viral illness with 100% mortality.
“The north-eastern States account for 95% of the pork production and consumption in India,” Mr. Raju mentioned.
Veterinary officers have been requested to maintain a watch on weekly markets, particularly these on the border with Assam, the place animals are traded with out a well being verify.
ASF is claimed to have entered Arunachal Pradesh from Tibet in 2020, spreading to Assam and Meghalaya. The illness killed greater than 17,000 pigs in Assam final 12 months.
About 1,200 pigs have been killed by the virus — non-lethal for people — in Mizoram in April-May this 12 months.
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