E-Paper
African swine fever detected in Tripura, culling of pigs begins around epicentre
All pigs within 1km radius of the epicentre in Tripura will be culled and a 10-km zone will be under surveillance due to an outbreak of African swine fever
Tripura is the latest state to register an outbreak of African swine fever in pigs with three of 87 samples testing positive for the virus in Kanchanpur sub-division under North Tripura district.
The director of the animal resource development department K Shashi Kumar told reporters on Wednesday all pigs within 1km radius of the epicentre will be culled and a 10-km zone will be under surveillance.
“Three of 87 samples of pigs tested positive for African swine fever. We'll cull all pigs within 1km from epicentre and declare the 10km area as a surveillance zone. We've issued notification and begun the culling process,” he told news agency ANI.
On Monday, the authorities had declared the exotic pig breeding farm in Kanchanpur the epicentre of the infection. “To control the disease and prevent infection, the exotic pig breeding farm in Kanchanpur has been declared as the epicentre of the disease under the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animal Act,” an official from the department said.
According to experts, African Swine fever does not infect or spread to humans even though it is deadly and highly contagious for pigs.
The department had also announced a compensation ranging from ₹2,200 to ₹15,000 for private farm owners for culling their source of income. As per established protocol, the caracas will be buried deep inside the ground after the process of culling concludes.
Last month, this highly contagious viral infection had afflicted pigs in Mizoram, claiming the lives of over 25,000 pigs in five months since late March, and leading to substantial losses of more than ₹121 crore. Aizawl was the worst impacted district in the state where more than 11,000 pigs died after being infected with African swine fever.
With agency inputs
