Kozhikode: Fear runs among people in Kerala's Kozhikode, where a wild boar was found dead and the animal was detected with African swine fever.
The incident happened in Maruthonkara of Kozhikode district which also saw Nipah outbreak recently. The disease was confirmed at a virology lab in Bhopal. African swine fever is reported for the first time in the Kozhikode district.
Also read: Three hundred pigs to be culled in Wayanad in Kerala to control African swine fever spread
This virus does not directly cause disease in humans and pigs die within a kilometre radius of the confirmed virus. At present, there are no pig farms in the confirmed area. The Kerala health department said that awareness campaign will be run to sensitise farm owners in the nearby area.
All pig farm owners of the district will be asked to attend a detailed class on October 6 at the district veterinary hospital hall. African swine fever is caused by a virus belonging to the family Asfarviridae.
Read more: African Swine Fever confirmed in two farms in Kerala
In 1907, the first instance of the disease was found in Kenya. Infection was noticed from African wild boars in domesticated pigs in British colonies. The disease, which was confined to the African continent for five decades, spread to Europe in 1957.
In that year, the disease was first reported in Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal, through pork imported from Africa. Then the disease spread to Spain, France, Italy and Malta. Then the African swine fever came to America.
In the European country of Malta in 1978, when the disease broke out, the country's pigs were culled to eradicate the disease. During the 1960s and 1990s, African swine fever caused heavy economic losses to the swine industry in the United States and Europe.
Also read: Kerala: More African Swine fever cases reported in Kannur
The disease was first detected in Asia in August 2018 at pig farms in China's eastern province of Liaoning. Then the disease spread widely to all Southeast Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, East Timor, South Korea, Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Laos.
The disease was confirmed for the first time in India on May 21, 2020. Earlier, Swine flu had spread in the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The virus reached Kerala on July 21, 2022. The disease was detected at a farm in Tavinjal Wayanad District.
