Four epicentres of African Swine Fever found in Assam

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: It is a matter of concern that, so far, four epicentres of African Swine Fever (ASF) have been recorded in the state. This has led to compulsory culling of pigs within a radius of the affected areas.

According to sources from the Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Department, the menace of ASF has been noted in the state every year since 2020. This year also, four epicentres of the disease have been discovered across the districts of Sivasagar, Kokrajhar, Sonitpur and Barpeta. The most recent affected district is Barpeta, and the local administration has banned the sale of pigs and their meat. Culling of pigs has been done in the Barpeta and Sonitpur districts as a precautionary measure, department sources said.

In the Sivasagar district, the affected pigs died as a result of the disease, eliminating the necessity of culling. In the Kokrajhar district, ASF was mostly found to have affected wild boars, which made it almost impossible to cull any of the affected animals.

Veterinary department sources clarified that ASF does not spread from pigs to humans but spreads rapidly among pigs in the nearby areas affected. Once the outbreak of the disease assumes a bigger proportion, the affected pigs are bound to die. This necessitates the culling of pigs in nearby areas of the ASF epicentres to break the chain of the outbreak.

The farmers whose pigs are culled by the local administration receive government compensation. On the other hand, the farmers whose pigs die as a result of the disease do not get such compensation. The rate of compensation offered to the farmers varies according to the weight of the pigs. Of the total compensation given to the farmers, 50% is borne by the central government and the remaining 50% by the state government.

On the incidence of ASF in the last five years, the Veterinary department has come to the conclusion that the outbreak generally occurs in the summer season.

Also Read: Assam’s own revenue collection jumps 83 percent in four years

Also Watch: