African Swine Fever reported in farm of Kerala's Wayanad district
Jul 22, 2022
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 22 : African Swine Fever (ASF) has been reported at a farm in the Wayanad district of Kerala, said state's Animal Husbandry Minister J Chinchurani on Friday. So far no official numbers of African Swine Fever have been confirmed.
The officials of the Animal Husbandry Department are visiting the farm.
The African Swine Fever causes fever, nausea and diarrhoea in pigs.
The disease was confirmed among pigs at a farm in the district after the samples went for tested in Pune was confirmed.
In early July, Uttarakhand had reported cases of African Swine Fever.
This disease is highly communicable and has no vaccine. The government has urged residents to avoid having pork.
Earlier this month, the north-eastern states of Assam, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura reported ASF.
In April, a total of 63 mature pigs died due to unknown reasons in Tripura which raised an alarm.
Before the outbreak, there were 265 mature pigs and 185 piglets in the pig shed of the farm.
Instances of ASF first emerged in India in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in May 2020.
The haemorrhagic disease is harmless to humans but deadly to pigs.
ASF continues to spread worldwide, threatening pig health and welfare. The disease has reached multiple countries across Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Pacific, affecting both domestic and wild pigs.
Globally, since 2005, ASF has been reported in a total of 73 countries.
