CHENNAI: Preventive measures to tackle the possible threat of swine flu continued on Friday as the Chennai Corporation captured 25 more pigs, taking the total number culled to around 150 in the last three days.
After attending an emergency meeting of experts and corporation health officials, Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni gave a different spin to the culling. “We are not culling them because we believe there is a threat of the virus infecting the pigs. We are merely enforcing the ban on pig rearing within city limits. It is also a preventive measure. About 70 per cent of the pigs reared here are sent for slaughter so we are only focussing on the remaining numbers,” Lakhoni said.
The civic body is also gearing up to meet any threat of the H1N1 virus by working out a protocol on identification, diagnosis and quarantine of possible cases. “We are also procuring drugs in case we have any cases,’’ he said. Lab facilities are also being stepped up and rapid testing kits obtained - the virus is complicated and difficult to detect, he added.
Meanwhile, an official release from TN Veterinary and Animal Sciences University said, there was no fear that the H1N1 virus had entered any of the pig farms in the State. The weather conditions in the State are also not conducive to the spread of the virus.
“We have made a twopage pamphlet which we are distributing throughout the State to our 17 research centres to make doctors there aware about the possible threat of this disease.
So far however, no pig farm in the country has been affected,’’ said Dr P Thangaraju, vice-chancellor of the university. Pig farms in the Stateare under strict vigil, he added.