African Swine Fever kills 509 pigs in Mizoram: Officials

AIZAWL: A fresh outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) has resulted in the deaths of at least 509 pigs in two districts of Mizoram since March 20, officials said on Sunday, adding that culling operations have begun in the region to prevent further spread of the disease.

According to an official from the Mizoram animal husbandry and veterinary department, 509 pigs died in Lawngtlai and Mamit districts since the latest outbreak began. Of the 509 deaths, 462 of them took place on Friday.

“The outbreak was officially confirmed on March 20 through laboratory tests conducted in Guwahati,” Dr Esther Lalzoliani Ralte, livestock in-charge of the state animal husbandry and veterinary department said, adding the outbreak has affected 13 localities and villages across the two districts.

The outbreak has hit Lawngtlai the hardest, with 440 pigs reported dead across six localities of the district. The remaining deaths were recorded in Zawlnuam town of Mamit district, which shares a boundary with Tripura.

Veterinary officials and village councils have started carrying out culling operations in the two districts. So far, 94 pigs have been culled to prevent further spread of the highly contagious disease.

African swine fever is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the Asfarviridae family. The virus causes a hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs; some isolates can cause death of animals as quickly as a week after infection.

“The need of the hour is to contain the disease. Veterinary officials and village councils of Mamit and Lawngtlai districts are working to prevent outbreak in other districts of Mizoram,” Ralte said. “Lawngtlai and Zawlnuam towns are now declared infected areas, and movement of pigs is restricted. Pig farmers are also being alerted to contain the outbreak and advised them to follow protocols given by the department.”

Mizoram suffered a loss of ₹336.49 crore during the previous outbreak of ASF in 2024. Since the first case of the disease was detected in 2021, the state has incurred a loss of over ₹896 crore, according to data from Mizoram state veterinary and animal husbandry department.