UDUPI : Authorities have shut down a pig farm and imposed restrictions on the movement of live pigs and pork products after African Swine Fever (ASF) was confirmed in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district following the deaths of wild boars and a domestic pig last month.
The infection was confirmed on Friday after laboratory tests on samples collected from three wild boars and a domestic pig that died in forest-bordering villages of Kundapur and Byndoor taluks, Udupi district, prompting the Animal Husbandry Department to launch containment measures to prevent further spread of the highly contagious viral disease.
Dr MC Reddappa, deputy director of the animal husbandry and veterinary services department, Udupi, said that two wild boars were initially found dead within Haklady gram panchayat limits in Kundapur, following which officials from the animal husbandry and forest departments conducted post-mortems and collected organ samples for testing.
Authorities have declared a 1-km radius around the affected pig farm as an infected zone. The remaining pigs at the farm will be culled using electric stunners, and the farm will remain closed for 90 days. Compensation will be provided to the owner for the culled animals, officials said.
A 10-km surveillance zone has also been notified, where weekly sampling of pigs will be carried out. The transportation of live pigs and pork products from both the infected and surveillance zones has been prohibited. A special monitoring team headed by the Kundapur Taluk Veterinary Officer has been constituted to enforce containment measures and prevent further spread of the disease.
He added that while Karnataka had reported an ASF outbreak at a pig farm in Belle, Kaup taluk, in 2023, this is the first confirmed instance of the virus being detected in wild boars in the state.