African swine flu kills more than 14,000 pigs in Assam amid corona crisis

Guwahati, Ta. 12 May 2020, Tuesday

The swine flu outbreak in Assam is still raging amid the Koro crisis. The flu has spread to more than 14,000 pigs in 10 districts. Farmers have been advised by the state government to bury the carcasses of pigs in deep pits. A canal has been dug to prevent pigs from entering the populated area.

Atul Bora, the state's animal husbandry minister, said 14,465 pigs have died in 10 districts so far due to the African swine flu outbreak. The state government is taking all possible steps to prevent the transition. He said the state government was advising farmers to bury pig carcasses in deep pits to prevent infection.

The first case of African swine flu was reported in Assam in February this year. "The transition has spread to 3 out of 6 districts in Majuli, Golaghat and metropolitan," a state government spokesperson said. Initially the transition was against six districts of the state Dibrugarh, Shivsagar, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Bishwanath.

He said a six-foot-deep and two-kilometer-long canal has been dug inside the Agoratoli range so that wild boars can return to the surrounding village and domestic pigs cannot enter the park. Bora said the state is regularly informing the Center about the situation. Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had directed veterinary and forest officials to work with the National Pig Research Center of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research to protect animals from disease.

Bora said that as per the census of 2019 by the department, the number of pigs in the state was 21 lakh, which has increased to about 30 lakh. He said that despite the approval from the Center, the state government has decided not to kill the pigs immediately and has opted for an alternative to prevent the spread of the disease.