African Swine Fever Detected In Assam

As the state of Assam is busy battling the novel coronavirus, another problem seems to have taken its roots in the state. African swine flu has killed around 2,800 pigs in Assam since February making the state the epicenter of ASF in India.

Likely the life-threatening coronavirus, ASF is also known to have spread from China. ASF has already killed around 60 percent of China's domestic pigs between 2018 and 2020.

Atul Bora, the state animal husbandry and veterinary minister, said, “We have been asked to divide the area into zones and go for culling accordingly. The situation is quite serious since there are many pig farmers now with more than 20 lakh pigs.”

It is the first instance of the virus in the country. With a mortality rate of 100 percent, it has led to the death of around 2,500 pigs in the state.

Atul bora tells the situation as alarming but has strategies to prevent the further death of pigs. However, it is not a public threat as it does not get transmitted from animals to humans.