IMPHAL, Oct 17: Manipur Veterinary and Animal Husbandry department has confirmed the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in more districts of Manipur after it was earlier confirmed in Imphal West district.
Earlier, the department had confirmed the outbreak of the highly contagious disease among pigs in Imphal West district. Following the confirmation, the district administration had also declared a pig farm of the Central Agriculture University (CAU) in the district as “epicenter” of the disease.
A notification of the department issued on Tuesday confirmed the outbreak of the disease in pigs in Imphal East, Kakching, Bishnupur and Ukhrul district also.
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Based on the notifications, the respective district administrations have also declared selected pig farms in these districts as controlled areas for ASF with immediate effect to effectively prevent, control and eradicate the scheduled disease.
While declaring the control areas, the district administration also prohibited movement and transportation of pigs from these districts.
No person shall take out any animal of the notified species from the restricted area, dead or alive, the orders read.
Under the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Disease in Animals Act, 2009, any person who contravenes the provisions of the act or obstructs an officer in his duties, shall be guilty of an offence and punishable under the law, the order further read.
The outbreak of the disease was detected after the state veterinary and animal husbandry department collected samples from the affected pig farms where deaths of the animals by unknown disease were reported in these districts in the last few weeks.
The department sent the samples to the North Eastern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Guwahati — the referral laboratory for northeastern states. Officials said the department confirmed the ASF outbreak based on the laboratory report.
Farmers reported pig deaths with symptoms like fever, loss of appetite, starvation, and death within a week.
Following the deaths of the pigs, recently the prices of the pork in the state were slashed from Rs 350-380 to Rs 180-200 per kg with retailers suddenly dropping the price of the meat after a pricing competition, prompting non-vegetarians to make a beeline for the pork outlets in Imphal city.
African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease that primarily affects domestic and wild pigs, often resulting in a mortality rate of up to 100 percent.
Although it does not pose a direct threat to human health, it can devastate pig populations and inflict significant damage on the farming economy.
The virus’s resilience in various environments and materials, including clothing, footwear, and pork products, highlights the importance of implementing rigorous preventive measures to prevent further spread, officials opined.
