Kamrup, July 21: The Assam government has declared the Bishnupur Nadirpar village of Hajo development block in Kamrup district as the epicentre of African Swine Fever (ASF) and all villages within a one-kilometer radius as infected zones. Villages within a 10-kilometer radius have been declared surveillance zones.
The government has banned the transportation of live pigs, pig feed, pork and pork products from and to these zones with immediate effect. The government has allowed euthanasia of infected pigs but only at the epicentre and in the infected zone.
“All the pigs under the surveillance zone will be subject to intensive surveillance, which will include clinical surveillance, virological surveillance, and serological surveillance,” the order stated, adding that intensified surveillance on the domestic pig population adjacent to forest areas will be carried in consultation with the forest department.
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The carrying of goods or animals from or to the infected zone has also been banned. Carriage of pigs through roadways or railways through the declared infected zone is allowed provided the animals are not unloaded in any place within the zone till the issuance of a sanitization certificate by the competent veterinary authority.
The government has also imposed a ban on carrying any pig feed or breeding materials or carcass, skin, or other parts or products of such animals, which have come in contact with any animal infected or suspected to be infected from ASF.
Over 40,000 pigs have so far died of African Swine Fever in the state since the detection of the disease in 2020.
