Now pigs are dying from 'exotic virus' in Assam; 1964 dead in 6 districts

Prabin Kalita | TNN | Apr 25, 2020, 18:56 IST

Photo for representative purpose only

GUWAHATI: Amid the novel coronavirus crisis, six districts in Assam have been declared as containment zones where more than 1950 pigs have been killed by an “exotic viral disease,” within few weeks.
The state government on Saturday banned purchase of pigs and sale of pork and banned movement of people in contact with pig farms from one place to another, agriculture minister Atul Bora said.
“This is a season for swine flu in Assam and we have vaccinated the animals but while many pigs are healthy, 1964 pigs have died in six in Sibsagar, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Biswanath. We have processed the samples of the dead pigs but we do have not been able identify the exact reasons of this unnatural deaths. We believe the cause is an exotic viral disease and we have sent the samples to National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal for confirmation,” Bora said.
“We do not want the disease to spread so these six districts have been declared as containment zones and people who are in contact with pigs are barred from travelling out of their place of stay,” Bora added.