MANIPUR HIT BY AFRICAN SWINE FEVER
HEALTH
Imphal: Manipur’s Veterinary & Animal Husbandry department on Friday has confirmed the outbreak of African Swine Fever (AFS) in the state and has declared the Pig Farm of the Central Agriculture University (CAU) at Eroisemba, Imphal West District as 'epicentre' of ASF. 2. Further the department has notified Imphal West District as a controlled area with immediate effect to prevent, control and eradicate the scheduled disease.
In exercise of the power under the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Disease in Animals Act, 2009, to control, containment and eradication of African Swine Fever in the Infected Zone covering 1km radius of infected premises, the Deputy Commissioner of the Imphal West and Director, Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Services, Manipur has joined issued orders that no pig shall be moved from the place where it is kept within the controlled area and no person shall take out any animal of the notified species from the controlled area, death or alive. Any person who contravenes the provisions of the Act or obstructs the competent officer performing duties under the Act shall be guilty of an offence and punishable under the Act.
The outbreak comes after pig farmers bodies in Manipur reported deaths of pigs at various farms in the valley districts like Imphal West, East and Kakching since March this year. Farmers reported pig deaths with symptoms like fever, loss of appetite, starvation, and death within a week.
Following a surge of deaths, the state veterinary and animal husbandry department had collected samples from affected piggeries for confirming if there is any outbreak of a disease in the state. The samples were sent to the referral laboratory for NE States, the North Eastern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (NERDDL).
The Department confirmed the ASF outbreak based on the laboratory report of the all India Coordinated Research Project (AICP) on pig of Central Agricultural University, Eroisemba, Manipur
Recently, prices of Pork retailers was slashed down from Rs. 350-380 to Rs. 180-200 with retailers claiming the sudden drop in price of the meat was not caused to an outbreak of a disease but pricing war within the pig farmers’/retailers’ community, prompting non-veg eaters to make a beeline at pork outlets in city.