Assam Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister Atul Bora on Sunday, informed about the first instance of African Swine Flu detected in the state, for which 2,500 pigs have already been culled, in around 306 villages of seven districts, as per the directions by the Centre.

Bora told media, that after a lab in Bhopal attributed the death of thousands of pigs to the first-ever case of ASF in the country, the state has been directed to divide the affected areas into zones, and given approval for culling.

However, he said that the state will not resort to the culling of all the pigs in the state and will adopt an alternate strategy to prevent the spread of the disease after consulting the experts, despite a go-ahead from the Centre.

After conducting specific testing, only the infected ones shall be culled, as the death percentage of the infected animal is 100 per cent.

The Minister has also requested neighbouring states to prohibit any kind of movement of drift, as the virus spreads through pig’s meat, saliva, blood and tissue. For the same, the state will have a surveillance zone within a 10 km radius.

Bora said the total damage will be assessed soon, as many farmers will be affected by this state, and remunerations will be given accordingly by the disaster management authorities.

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