No pig deaths or culling in Mizoram since January amid ASF Outbreak

Aizawl: Mizoram has not reported any pig death and no pig has been culled since first January this year due to the African Swine Fever (ASF), which has so far claimed over 62,000 pigs since March 2021, officials of state's animal husbandry and veterinary department said.

However, the lull in the ASF outbreak can't be treated as contained as it usually resurface when warm climate sets in, they said.

At least 14,950 pigs have died due to ASF and 24,177 others culled as a precaution to prevent the spread of the pig disease in 2024 causing a monetary loss to the tune of over Rs. 330 crore, they said. 

The ASF outbreak was first reported at Lungsen village in south Mizoram's Lunglei district near the Bangladesh border on 21 March, 2021 and 33,417 pigs died and 12,568 others culled during that year, the department's record also said.

While 12,795 pigs died and 11,686 others culled in 2022, the year 2023 saw a smaller toll with 1,139 deaths and 980 pigs culled, the data said.Officials said that the total monetary losses incurred due to ASF in the past 4 years since 2021 is estimated to be nearly Rs. 900 crore.

Mizoram was also hit by Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS)  in 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2020 killing thousands of pigs and piglets causing a loss to the tune of Rs 10.62 crore.