Pork, pig markets banned in UP's Bareilly after African Swine Fever confirmed

The Bareilly district administration has banned pig markets and the sale of pork after 20 pigs died of African Swine Fever (ASF) at a farm in Faridpur here.

District Magistrate Shivakant Dwivedi passed the order on Tuesday following a report by the chief veterinary officer.

In his order, Dwivedi said ASF is highly contagious and fatal in pigs and added the ban has been enforced to prevent its spread.

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The first case of ASF was reported in Bareilly on July 20 as the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) had confirmed the death of pigs at a farm due to the disease.

The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from their samples had confirmed the disease and the IVRI had sought a detailed report from the chief veterinary officer.

Dr K P Singh, Joint Director of IVRI, Bareilly, said ASF has been reported in Bareilly after northeastern states Mizoram, Tripura and Assam saw such cases.

A few days ago, pigs in the farm owned by one Dr Anil Kumar, resident of Bhadsar Dandiya village of Nawabganj tehsil here, had high fever. Despite treatment, they stopped eating and later died.

Kumar sent samples from the dead pigs to IVRI, which confirmed ASF.

The administration then sent a team to the village to check for the infection in other pigs.

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The chief veterinary officer was also asked to issue an advisory on behalf of the IVRI. Accordingly, one-kilometre area where the ASF was confirmed, was declared an infected zone, Singh said, adding humans are not at a risk of getting infected.

IVRI is also in the process of bringing out a vaccine for this disease, he said.

ASF was first reported in Africa in 1920.