SIMAPUR:
The Nagaland animal husbandry and veterinary services department, on May 25, expressed concerned over the detection of an acute form of African swine fever in the state.
The current trend of occurrence indicates that the disease is penetrating and spreading to various parts of the state, suggesting that the advisory issued to contain the disease is not fully complied with by all stakeholders, the department said.
The directorate of the department has informed the public and piggery farmers that the occurrence of African swine fever continues to be unabated in the state with positive cases reported from Tuli block under Mokokchung district and Tizit block under Mon district, which was confirmed through RT-PCR from NERDDL, Guwahati.
It said abolishing all veterinary check posts and the porous borders have made the situation harder to carry out containment measures, the department informed.
To contain the spread of the disease, the department has appealed to the public, especially those farmers whose pigs have been affected to follow certain protocols.
They were asked to inform about the sudden death of pigs to the nearest veterinary institute and not to consume dead pigs.
The pig farmers have been told to list out the number of pigs that died along with photos and approximate body weight of each pig. After duly certified by the village or colony authority, the same must be submitted to the chief veterinary officer for authentication, the department said.
They are also asked to follow the deep burial method, at least 6 feet deep, followed by the spreading of lime.
The department said the carcass should not be thrown in the river, canal stream or water bodies.
The pig farmers have been asked not to re-populate the pigs without the department’s consultation.