Over 2,000 pigs die of African Swine Fever in MP's Rewa in 2 weeks

Rewa: More than 2,000 pigs have died due to African swine fever in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa city in a span of two weeks, following which the administration has issued prohibitory orders, an official said.

The prohibitory orders have been issued under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), banning transportation, purchase and sale of pigs and their meat, Collector Manoj Pushp on Sunday said in the order, issued under the Prevention and Control of Infections and Contagious Animal Disease Act 2009.

As per the order, the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal has tested samples and detected African swine fever in pigs within Rewa municipal limits. Pigs in Rewa started dying around two weeks ago, following which the animal husbandry department sent samples to the laboratory, it said.

According to officials, the African swine fever has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 pigs in Rewa city alone within two weeks. Teams of local municipal authorities are disposing of the carcasses, they said.

There are more than 25,000 pigs in the city, of which the maximum number of infected animals were found in ward 15, the animal husbandry department’s deputy director Dr Rajesh Mishra said. All pigs within a radius of one km were being screened and healthy animals were being vaccinated against the disease, he said.