Assam: African swine fever outbreak declared in Morigaon village

OUR CORRESPONDENT

MORIGAON: Dapanibari village of Dharamtul under Mayang development of Morigaon district has been declared an outbreak zone of African swine fever, as per a directive of the district administration on Wednesday.

Accordingly, villages within a radius of one kilometer of this village will be considered as infected areas and villages within a radius of 10 km will be considered as monitoring areas. For infected areas, the directive states that live pigs or pig feed or pork and pork products cannot be brought into or taken out of the area. Vehicles transporting goods or animals shall not carry any animals out of or into the infected area.

Animals (pigs) will be allowed to be transported by road or rail through the infected area only if the veterinary authority concerned issues a certificate of sanitation. However, the animal shall not be unloaded anywhere within the infected area. No person shall remove pigs infected or suspected to be infected with African swine fever, alive or dead, from an infected area. No person who comes into contact with any animal suspected of being infected with or infected with African swine fever shall carry pig feed or pen materials or other articles such as carcasses, skins or other parts or articles of such animals.

No person, organization, or institution shall conduct any animal market, animal fair, animal exhibition and conduct any activity where pigs are likely to be accumulated within the infected area. If the Veterinary Officer concerned considers it necessary to grant relaxation in the public interest, he may relax such restrictions with respect to animals other than pigs on the basis of applications received by him in this regard. No person shall bring or attempt to bring to a market, fair, exhibition or any other public place a swine infected or suspected of being infected with African swine fever. If the Chief Veterinary Officer or the concerned officer considers it appropriate to kill an animal (pig) infected with African swine fever in order to prevent possible transmission to other pigs in the area, he shall issue such instructions in writing. The officers of all municipalities and panchayats shall assist the veterinary officers and veterinarians in the performance of their duties or in the exercise of their powers under the ‘Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases of Animals Act.’

Whoever drowns or places in any river, lake, creek, or other body of water, the carcass or any part of the carcass of any animal known to be infected at the time of death, shall be guilty of offence and may be sentenced to imprisonment or fine or both.

All restrictions mentioned for infected areas except the order to kill animals shall apply in monitoring areas. Domestic pigs in the vicinity of the forest should also be monitored in consultation with the forest department. This notification has been issued with immediate effect.

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