African Swine Fever (ASF) hits Kakching district of Manipur

IMPHAL: The district deputy commissioner has ordered containment measures in Kakching district after positive cases of African swine fever (ASF) were confirmed at a pig breeding farm in the district's Hiyanglam area. DC Kakching informed that no pig will be relocated from its current location within the controlled area, according to an order from Somorjit Salam. The sale of pigs, pork, feed, and associated goods there was also prohibited by the order.

Additionally, the order stated that areas falling within 1 km of the disease's epicenter have been designated as "infected zones" and areas falling within 9 km of the epicenter have been designated as "surveillance zones" for the purposes of implementing containment and control measures.

According to reports, the pigs kept at the farm are of the variety that was brought from the UK by the government in October 2021 for breeding purposes, according to Dr. RK Harshyam, a pig specialist at Pig Breeding Farm in Hiyanglam.

After the pigs kept at the Farm began dying suddenly, test samples were sent for analysis, and on June 23, the results came back positive for ASF, he continued.

Additionally, Dr. RK Harshyam stated that the Farm was sanitized as a preventative measure as soon as the pigs began to die. The areas that have been designated as "Infected Zone" will undergo extensive sanitization once more starting on Sunday morning as the test results have confirmed ASF, and surveillance will begin in areas designated as "Surveillance Zone," he said.