African swine fever confirmed in Kannur, Kerala

Tags: State News

Recently, African Swine Fever has been confirmed for the first time in a private pig farm in Kerala, in the last ten days more than 15 pigs died on the farm due to the disease.

About African Swine Fever

• African swine fever is a highly contagious hemorrhagic viral disease of domestic and wild boars.

• It was first found in Africa in the 1920s.

• Historically, infections have been reported in Africa and parts of Europe, South America, and the Caribbean.

• However, since the year 2007, the disease has been reported in domestic and wild pigs in several countries in Africa, Asia and Europe.

• It has a mortality rate of around 95-100% and there is no cure for this fever, so the only way to stop its spread is to kill animals.

• African swine fever does not pose a threat to humans, as it only spreads from animal to animal.

• African swine fever is a disease listed in the Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

World animal health organisation

• It is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for improving the health of animals around the world.

• It currently has a total of 182 countries as its members. India is one of its member countries.

• It develops standard documents relating to the rules by which member states can protect themselves from diseases and pathogens. One of these is the Regional Animal Health Code.

• Its standards are recognized by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as reference to the organisation's International Sanitation Rules.

• Its headquarter is located in Paris (France).