Pigs rounded up to prevent Nipah

Hubballi: In an effort to prevent the spread of the dangerous Nipah virus, authorities in Hubballi and Dharwad are implementing bizarre methods. One of it is to track students from Kerala in the city, and their relatives and friends who come to the city to visit them. And the other is to round up stray pigs since they are carriers of the virus.

District Health and Family Welfare Officer Dr. R.M. Doddamani said that the district will implement its own unique preventive measures, along with those directed by the health department. Managements of colleges and hostels have been instructed to observe students from Kerala, and the relatives who visit them. People have also been advised not to consume fruits in localities that are inhabited by fruit bats, which act as hosts for the virus.

Mayor Sudheer Saraf informed that the thousands of stray pigs in the city would be taken by men hired from Tumakuru and Tamil Nadu. Since pigs are carriers of the virus, all stray pigs will be rounded up and taken elsewhere.