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As many as 310 pigs at Madakkathara grama panchayat in Kerala’s Thrissur are set to be culled after an outbreak of African Swine Fever was reported at a private farm
African Swine Fever
It is a highly contagious and fatal animal disease that infects and leads to an acute form of hemorrhagic fever in domestic and wild pigs.
Other manifestations of the disease include: High fever, Depression, Anorexia, Loss of appetite, Hemorrhages in the skin, Vomiting and diarrhoea among others.
It was first detected in Africa in the 1920s
The mortality is close to 95% - 100% and since the fever has no cure, the only way to stop its spread is by culling the animals.
ASF is not a threat to human beings since it only spreads from animals to other animals.
ASF is a disease listed in the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)’s Terrestrial Animal Health Code.
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