Mizoram: Pig import banned in view of African swine flu

Aizawl: The Mizoram government has banned import of pigs and pig products from neighbouring states and countries following the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in some Asian countries.

The prohibitory orders were issued by district magistrates on Wednesday.

The order said that no pigs and sausage made out of pork should be imported to the state without prior permission of district magistrates. Officials of state animal husbandry and veterinary (AH&Vety) department said that there is possibility of the outbreak hitting Mizoram any time.

They said that the ASF is more dangerous than Classical Swine Flu (CSF) and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virus, which are familiar in the state.

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The state government has also recently constituted a committee on ‘Preparedness for African Swine Fever’ involving officials of animal husbandry and veterinary department and experts from college of veterinary sciences and animal husbandry to prevent possible outbreak of the swine disease.

According to officials, any pigs once infected with ASF could not be cured and the virus could not be contained easily. They said that a laboratory test will be conducted on sausage imported from Asia countries.

African swine fever virus is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the Asfarviridae family. The virus causes a haemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs; some isolates can cause death of animals as quickly as a week after infection.

The disease, which currently has no cure and doesn’t affect humans, has recently been reported to have hit Vietnam, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Cambodia, and North Korea.