More than 2,000 pigs have died due to African swine fever in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa city in two weeks. This has led authorities to impose section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), banning the transportation, purchase and sale of pigs and their meat under the Prevention and Control of Infections and Contagious Animal Disease Act 2009.
The animal husbandry department's deputy director Dr Rajesh Mishra told PTI that there were more than 25,000 pigs in the city, of which the maximum number of infected animals were found in ward 15.
Moreover, the death of more than 800 pigs since July 27 in the Ranchi district of Jharkhand has also raised alarms in the eastern state. Though most of the pig deaths have been reported from the capital city, an advisory has been issued to all 24 districts.
Where was it first detected? Where else has it been reported?
African swine fever was first detected in India in February 2020 in Dibrugarh's Bhogali Pathar village in Assam, where a pig tested positive. Jharkhand, Mizoram, Sikkim, Nagaland, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh have also reported several cases.
The disease was first detected in Africa in the 1920s has the mortality rate is almost 100 percent. The virus spread to Asia in 2018 and has affected 10 percent of the local swine population.
Since the outbreak in India, Assam has reported the death of more than 40,000 pigs and the disease has spread into 22 districts, according to the state.
“This is a deadly disease, and the mortality of pigs is 100 percent. At present, 22 districts of Assam having 72 epicentres are affected by ASF. Since March 2020, 40,482 pigs have died of ASF, affecting 14,005 pig farming families,” Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister of Assam Atul Bora had said earlier.
Does it transmit to humans, and is the consumption of pork products safe?
As a matter of relief, unlike swine flu, this does not transmit to humans, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA has said African swine flu is not a food safety issue.
However, the Australian government has warned that the "virus is able to survive long periods in pork and pork meat products, including cured meats, hams, sausages, salamis and frozen pork products".
Pigs can be the disease carriers and spread the virus to perfectly healthy livestock.
Treatment
With no cure in sight, the disease can only be avoided through preventive measures. Once the disease spreads in a particular area, the only way to prevent the spread is by culling pigs
The highly contagious and fatal disease triggers acute fever in pigs and also leads to loss of appetite, extremities turning blueish-purple tremors, and shivering.
The pigs enter a comatose state and die after a few days of getting infected.
With inputs from PTI
First Published: Aug 29, 2022 12:05 PM IST
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