Manipur: African Swine Fever detected in Kakching, Churachandpur; pork sale banned

Imphal: The Manipur government on Thursday announced that the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) among pigs has been detected in two districts: Kakching in the valley areas and Churachandpur in the hills.

The Director of the Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department, Government of Manipur, R.K. Khogendrajit Singh, said that samples collected from pigs and sent to the North Eastern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Guwahati, have tested positive for African Swine Fever.

In Kakching district, ASF was found spreading in two locations, Moirangthem Leikai and Khaplangba Pareng, and in Churachandpur district at Khaimol Kangvai.

The state government has declared the affected locations as Containment Zones.

The state government has imposed a ban on the sale of pork, the operation of pig meat shops, and the transportation of pigs out of Kakching and Churachandpur districts.

As a precaution, the district administrations of Tamenglong and Noney have also imposed a ban on the transportation of pigs and their meat from other districts starting Thursday.

The District Magistrate has declared the area within a 1-km radius of the affected piggery farm as an Infected Zone.

Officials of the V&AH Department will begin culling all pigs found or reared within the infected zone, and carcasses will be buried five to six feet deep.

The government will provide compensation to pig farmers for the pigs culled by the department, sources said.

R.K. Khogendrajit Singh cautioned the public that, since no vaccine exists for ASF, the only effective preventive measure is strict biosecurity, which he described as the best tool for controlling the disease.