African Swine Fever outbreak reported in Kerala's Thrissur district
Thrissur (Kerala), Jul 5: An outbreak of African Swine Fever, a highly contagious and deadly swine disease that can affect both farm-raised and feral (wild) pigs, has been reported from a farm in a village in Kerala's Thrissur district, officials said on Friday.
Due to the outbreak of swine fever, which can be readily transmitted from one pig to another through direct contact with bodily fluids from an infected pig, the Thrissur district collector has ordered the culling of 310 pigs at a private farm in Thrissur district's Madakkathara panchayat, they said.
"The disease was confirmed in the pigs owned by Kuttalapuzha Babu of Veliyanthara in the 14th ward. The district Collector has directed the district animal husbandry officer to cull the pigs and bury them," according to an official release here.
A team consisting of doctors, livestock inspectors and attendants will conduct the culling process, and further primary disinfection measures will also be taken, it said.
The area within a one-kilometre radius of the affected farm has been declared a disease-affected area, and the area within a 10-km radius has been declared a disease surveillance area.
"The transportation of pork from the affected areas, the operation of such farms, and the movement of pigs, pork, and feed from the affected areas to other parts of the district, as well as the movement of these items from other areas into the affected area, have been prohibited until further orders," the release said.
Officials said the Animal Husbandry Department will investigate whether pigs were transported from the affected farm to other farms within the last two months.
The department will also conduct strict checks at checkposts and other entry points in the district to prevent the illegal transportation of pigs and pork from Thrissur or other areas, they said.
Following the confirmation of the disease in Madakkathara panchayat, precautionary measures will be taken in other areas of the district as well, officials said.
If the swine fever virus is detected in other areas, the municipal/government secretaries, village officers and rural development officials concerned should inform the relevant veterinary officer and then take the necessary steps to control the spread of the virus, they said.
According to the officials, African Swine Fever (ASF) is different from other types of fever.
Since it is a disease that affects only pigs, the possibility of transmission to other animals or humans is low, authorities have informed.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
