Two more African swine fever cases have been confirmed on a pig farm at Poolakundu, near Nambiarkunnu, on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border of Wayanad district.
The disease was confirmed on Monday after samples of animals from the farm owned by Biju Muchilode at Nenmeni grama panchayat tested positive at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal.
Three pigs on the farm died of disease symptoms earlier, following which the Animal Husbandry Department officials collected samples from 11 of the 193 pigs in the farm on July 24. Two of the samples have tested positive, P. Rajesh, Chief Veterinary Officer, Wayanad, told The Hindu.
“We are constituting a 10-member rapid response team (RRT) consisting of veterinarians, stunners and culling experts to cull the animals on the farm to contain the spread of the disease. The culling operation would begin at 10 a.m. on Tuesday,” said Dr. Rajesh.
The Wayanad district administration has declared a 1-km radius of the disease-affected areas as “infection zones” and the killing of pigs and the sale of pork in the area are banned. Another pig farm is functioning within a 1-km radius of the area and the animals there will also be culled in the coming days, he said.
An area of two to ten-km radius have been declared as surveillance zones, and surveillance measures would be strengthened here, said Dr. Rajesh.
Compensation will be provided to owners of the culled animals as per the guidelines of the Centre.
Earlier, the disease was reported from two farms in the Mananthavady area, and close to 500 pigs were culled to contain its spread.
