DIMAPUR: The Nagaland animal husbandry and veterinary services department, on Wednesday, said an acute form of African swine fever is seen in the state. 

The current trend of occurrence indicates that the disease is penetrating and spreading to various parts of the state, suggesting that the advisory issued to contain the disease is not fully complied with by all stakeholders. 

The directorate of the department has informed the public and piggery farmers that the occurrence of African swine fever continues to be unabated in the state with positive cases reported from Tuli block under Mokokchung district and Tizit block under Mon district, which was confirmed through RT-PCR from NERDDL, Guwahati. 

The department said the spreading of the cases in the state is a matter of concern for it. It said abolishing of all veterinary check posts and the porous borders have made the situation harder to carry out containment measures. 

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To contain the spread of the disease, the department has appealed to the public, especially those farmers whose pigs have been affected to follow certain protocols. 

They were asked to inform about the sudden death of pigs to the nearest veterinary institute and not to consume dead pigs. 

The pig farmers have been told to list out the number of pigs that died along with photos and approximate bodyweight of each pig.  

After dully certified by the village or colony authority, the same must be submitted to the chief veterinary officer for authentication, the department said.  

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They are also asked to follow the deep burial method, at least 6 feet deep, followed by the spreading of lime. 

The department said the carcass should not be thrown in the river, canal stream or water bodies. 

The pig farmers have been asked not re-populate the pigs without the department’s consultation. 

Bhadra Gogoi is Northeast Now Correspondent in Nagaland. He can be reached at: [email protected]