Thrissur : After confirming cases of African Swine Flu in parts of Thrissur, the district collector has directed the Animal husbandry department to conduct culling and burial of pigs in Kattilapoovam and Madakkathara regions where the disease was identified.
Animal Husbandry department district Coordinator Dr G Dinesh said that an area within a one-kilometer radius of the affected farms has been declared an infected zone and a ten-kilometre radius has been declared a surveillance zone. The Collector has also instructed that the distribution of pork from the infected areas, the operation of such shops and the transportation of pigs, pork, and feed to other parts of the district be halted until further orders.
Due to the outbreak of swine fever, which can be readily transmitted from one pig to another through direct contact with bodily fluids from an infected pig, the Thrissur district collector has ordered the culling of 310 pigs at a private farm in Thrissur district’s Madakkathara panchayat, said a senior official in the department to the media in Thrissur.
“The transportation of pork from the affected areas, the operation of such farms, and the movement of pigs, pork, and feed from the affected areas to other parts of the district, as well as the movement of these items from other areas into the affected area, have been prohibited until further orders,” read a press release from the Animal husbandry department.
In case the swine fever virus is detected in other parts of the district, municipality and village panchayats secretaries, village officers, and rural dairy development officials have been directed to notify the relevant veterinary officer and take measures to control the spread of the virus. Other local bodies included in the surveillance zone are Thrissur Corporation, Vadakkanchery Municipality, and the panchayats of Thekkumkara, Pananchery, and Puthur.
What is African Swine Flu?
African swine fever is a contagious and deadly viral swine disease affecting domestic and feral swine of all ages. It cannot be transmitted to people, and properly prepared pork products are safe to eat. Although it is not a direct threat to human health, its deadly nature in swine could result in pork product shortages, disruptions to trade, and economic impacts. There is no treatment or vaccine so the best way to protect pigs is by prevention.
After confirming cases of African Swine Flu in parts of Thrissur, the district collector has directed the Animal husbandry department to conduct culling and burial of pigs in Kattilapoovam and Madakkathara regions where the disease was identified. Kerala States News India: Top News India, States News, States News Headlines, Online State News India, State Politics news
