The state government has declared Arra market in Faridkot city as African swine fever (ASF)-affected zone and notified the area as an “infected zone” for the prevention of the ASF as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National High Security Animal Disease Institute, Bhopal, has confirmed ASF in the samples from the area.
Pigs were found dead after which the animal husbandry department had sent samples to the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. The samples were found out to be positive.
Faridkot deputy commissioner Dr Ruhee Dugg said that restrictions under the provisions of “The Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009” and the “National Action Plan for Control, Containment and Eradication of African Swine Fever (June 2020)” have been strictly imposed in this area for the prevention of the spread of the disease. “The area within 1 kilometre would be notified as infected zones while the areas within 1 to 10 kilometres radius would be turned into surveillance zones. No live or dead pig, meat or material shall be taken out or brought into the infected zones,” she added. A district-level committee led by the additional deputy commission (development) was also formed.