ASF outbreak: Wild boars found dead in Mizoram

Several wild boars were found dead in a forest area of Mizoram’s Serchhip district due to African Swine Fever (ASF), an official said on January 19.
The carcasses of around 20 wild boars were spotted near Thentlang village by local residents, who alerted the state Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, the official said.
Bone marrow samples were collected from the carcasses and sent for laboratory testing, which confirmed the presence of ASF on January 16, she said.
Locals claimed that carcasses of wild boars had been noticed in the Thentlang area since the first week of December last year.
Officials said that wild boar deaths have been reported sporadically in different parts of the state since the ASF outbreak was first detected in Mizoram in March 2021.
In July 2022, carcasses of wild boars were found in a forest area of Champhai district in eastern Mizoram near the Myanmar border, and laboratory tests later confirmed ASF as the cause of death.
Highly decomposed carcasses of wild boars were also found within Bungtlang South village along the bank of the De Lui river in south Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district near the Myanmar border in September 2024. Although samples could not be collected due to advanced decomposition, officials suspected ASF as the cause of death.
Similarly, a few wild boars were found dead near Saipum village in Kolasib district bordering Assam in September last year, which officials attributed to the swine disease.
African Swine Fever was first reported in Mizoram at Lungsen village in south Mizoram’s Lunglei district near the Bangladesh border on March 21, 2021. Since then, 72,012 pigs have died due to the disease, while 52,979 others were culled to prevent its spread, affecting over 12,500 families. The total financial loss has been estimated at Rs 1,011.27 crore, officials said.
Between March and December last year alone, 9,711 pigs died of ASF and 3,620 others were culled, affecting 3,867 families and causing an estimated financial loss of Rs 114.64 crore, they added.