Aizawl, Jan 1 (IANS): Mizoram suffered a loss of Rs 336.49 crore due to the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF), which left 15,000 pigs dead while around 24,200 pigs culled to prevent the spread of the disease in 2024, officials said on Wednesday.
An official from Mizoram’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department said that over 15,000 pigs died while over 24,200 pigs were culled till December 31 after the outbreak of the ASF on February 9 last year.
The officials said that the outbreak of the contagious disease started in mid-March 2021 and since then the ASF caused huge losses to the farmers and government farms.
In 2021, 33,417 pigs and piglets died and 12,568 were culled due to infectious disease while 12,795 pigs and piglets died and 11,686 were culled in 2022 and 1139 pigs and piglets died and 980 were culled in 2023.
In 2024, the first ASF case was reported on February 9 in Leithum village in Champhai district, which shares unfenced borders with Myanmar.
According to the official, the state, which shares unfenced borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh, has incurred financial losses of Rs 896.69 crore due to the disease since 2021.
“In view of the death and culling of pigs and piglets due to the ASF outbreak, Mizoram suffered a loss of Rs 334.14 crore in 2021, Rs 210.32 crore in 2022 and Rs 15.77 crore in 2023,” the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department official told IANS.
The government has provided compensation to several hundred families for the loss of pigs due to the highly communicable disease, she said.
The official said that the outbreak of ASF has declining fatalities with less number of pig deaths and culling reported since mid last month (December 2024).
According to the official, the deaths of pigs recently occurred in two districts -- Kolasib district along Assam and Lunglei district bordering Bangladesh.
The AHV Department official said that though the ratio of pig deaths due to ASF and culling has reduced after the summer season was over, the outbreak of the disease continued in a few districts with lesser numbers.
The pigs both in government and private farms and homes in around 260 villages in seven districts have been infected by the ASF outbreak. The districts are Aizawl, Champhai, Kolasib, Lunglei, Saitual, Khawzawl and Serchhip.
The official said that the 260 villages were declared infected by the veterinary department.
To prevent the spread of the ASF virus, the department has barred the supply of pigs, piglets and pork from the infected areas.
The Mizoram government also prohibited the import of pigs and piglets from neighbouring states and countries where often ASF infestations are being reported.
The outbreak of ASF mostly occurs when the climate begins to warm up and pre-monsoon rain commences in the state.
However, this year the outbreak continued even after the winter season began, the official said.
The AHV department after the outbreak of ASF and following the central guidelines has declared various villages and localities in seven districts in Mizoram as infected areas under the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Disease in Animals Act, 2009.
The ASF, which, however, does not affect humans, is a highly infectious disease among pigs and poses a severe threat with a very high mortality rate.
According to experts, the outbreak of ASF may have been caused by pigs or pork brought from neighbouring Myanmar, Bangladesh, and the adjoining states of the northeast.
Mizoram shares a 510-km-long unfenced border with Myanmar and 318 km with Bangladesh.
Pork is one of the most common and popular meats consumed by both the tribals and non-tribals in the northeastern region.
With heavy demand for pork in the region, its annual business is worth around Rs 8,000-10,000 crore in the northeast region, with Assam being the largest supplier.