Wayanad, Kerala: African Swine Flu cases have been detected in Kerala’s Wayanad district, officials said. After a large number of pigs died at one farm, the blood samples were sent to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal the official added.
The state health department, after confirming the infection, has issued orders to cull 300 pigs from all the nearby farms to contain the infection. As per the guidelines, all pigs within a one-kilometre radius of the epicentre of the disease are to be culled if there are reports of ASF.
The state govt has decided to take necessary steps to prevent the spread of the highly contagious disease after a red alert was issued based on the cases reported across a few northeastern states earlier this month.
The ASF is a highly contagious disease that affects domestic as well as wild pigs. Despite not being an ultimate threat to human life, the presence of the disease in the pig community threatens the farming economy.