KATHMANDU, Feb 9: African swine fever, a disease affecting pigs and wild boars, has been detected in various districts across the country.

The Department of Livestock Services(DoLS) said that the disease has been confirmed in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Tanahun, Lamjung and Kaski during surveillance. According to the DoLS, pigs and boars raised by farmers died in Tanahun due to African swine fever.

"The adoption of biosecurity methods, the border and internal quarantine, as well as monitoring, surveillance, and awareness programs, were being conducted," the DoLS said. "The disease was confirmed during this process."

Although DoLS said that the disease has been detected in the districts of Gandaki Province now,

According to the Directorate of Livestock and Fisheries Development of Bagmati Province, cases of African Swine Fever have been detected in Godavari Municipality of Lalitpur and Kirtipur Municipality of Kathmandu. The Directorate has written a letter to the local level and asked them to carry out awareness programs.

Accordingly, Lalitpur metropolis has started alerting the farmers across the metropolis about the African Swine Fever.

After this disease was confirmed in Nepal for the first time on May 16, 2022, the infection of this disease was detected in various places of 28 districts of the country within two years. According to the DoLS, 70,000 boars and pigs died as a result of its infection.

According to the Department of Livestock Services, African swine fever is a rapidly spreading infectious disease with a high mortality rate caused by the virus in pigs, boars and wild boars. This disease is not transmitted from animals to humans.

Symptoms observed include high fever (104 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit), reddening of the outer skin on the ears, tail, and lower abdomen, blue spots on the body, loss of appetite, vomiting, drooling, sputtering, thrashing, and convulsions, leading to the death of the animals.

This disease spreads especially through the handling or transportation of diseased pigs or their offspring or meat or materials that have been in contact with diseased animals.

There is currently no effective treatment available for this disease. The World Animal Health Organization has recommended paying special attention to biological security, including control of transportation from infected areas to control this disease.

 
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