African Swine Fever outbreak in Mizoram begins to subside

An official reported on Monday that the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak in Mizoram has started to subside.

Lalhmingthanga, Joint Director (Livestock Health) of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, reported a considerable decrease in the number of piggery mortality during the past several days.

The infection, which has nearly spread to the entire state, could flare up at any time, making the situation unpredictable, he added. The National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal recently confirmed that the dead wild boars, whose corpses were discovered in the woods close to the Myanmar border last month, succumbed to ASF.

Lalhmingthanga said that the state government is yet to inform the Centre about the detection of the highly contagious pig disease in wild boar. He said that the government would also write to the Centre, urging it to import vaccines for ASF from Vietnam. 

As many as 10,039 pigs and piglets have died due to ASF since its recurrence in February of this year, according to the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, after 13 additional pigs succumbed to the virus on Sunday.

According to the report, ASF has killed more than 43,400 pigs and piglets since it was first discovered in the state in March of last year. Over 20,000 pigs have already been killed to stop the illness from spreading further.

According to the department, the infection has spread to 137 villages and communities in 10 districts.

Earlier, the Mizoram government declared the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) a state disaster.