African Swine Flu confirmed in Thrissur

Thrissur, Oct 12: One case of African Swine Flu was confirmed in a pig farm at Cherppu village in Thrissur district on Tuesday.

Animal Husbandry Department officials said pigs in an area of one km around the farm would be culled and scientifically eliminated. Buying and selling of pigs, pig feed and pork have been banned within one km of the infected farm. A 24X7 control room has been opened to coordinate the preventive measures. People can contact the control room at 0487 2424223.

A high-level meeting chaired by Revenue Minister K Rajan reviewed the situation yesterday.

However, this is not the first time that African Swine Fever has been reported in Kerala. Earlier in August, the African Swine Flu was reported in pig farms that are concentrated in Wayanad.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), African swine fever is a highly contagious and fatal viral disease of domestic pigs. It was first detected in Kenya, East Africa, in 1921 as a disease that killed settlers' pigs. Contact with warthogs was proven to be an important factor in transmission of the virus.