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African swine fever: Admin starts culling of pigs in Wayanad
At least 300 pigs will be culled and buried near farms in Mananthawadi, said Wayanad sub-collector R Sreelakshmi. Samples sent to the National Institute of High Security Diseases in Bhopal confirmed the presence of the African swine fever on Friday. Besides Wayanad, an alert has also been sounded in Kozhikode.
The animal husbandry department of Kerala government on Sunday started the process of culling pigs affected by African swine fever in Wayanad district.
At least 300 pigs will be culled and buried near farms in Mananthawadi, said Wayanad sub-collector R Sreelakshmi. Samples sent to the National Institute of High Security Diseases in Bhopal confirmed the presence of the disease on Friday. Besides Wayanad, an alert has also been sounded in Kozhikode.
Pig farmers had initially refused to heed the culling order fearing big business losses but they consented after Sreelakshmi assured them of proper compensation.
“They had some apprehensions about the relief package. We told them that they will be compensated equivalent to the weight of the meat the animal carried. The amount will be distributed without any delay,” said the sub- collector, adding that a rapid response team of the animal husbandry department has started its work.
The government has already banned inter-state sale and transportation of pigs and pork-related products. Health experts have also asked people to cook red meat properly before consumption.
Though experts said animal-to-human transmission of the infection is rare, they called for extreme caution. State animal husbandry minister Chinchu Rani said on Sunday the government will take all measures to contain the infection.
The state had tightened bio-security measures following the alert from the Union government after some cases were reported from Bihar and West Bengal earlier this year.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease prevalent in wild and domestic pigs and mortality rate is very high. There is no vaccine to the disease and it is not a threat to human beings but will affect pork industry and livelihood of farmers in a big way, it said. It was first detected in Kenya in 1921.
