Dept of Animal Husbandry issues advisory on prevention of African swine fever

Bathinda, August 20: According to the advisory issued by Department of Animal Husbandry, African Swine Fever is a virus. Deputy-cum-Joint Director Animal Husbandry Punjab Dr. Rampal Mittal, State Nodal Officer-cum-Joint Director Amrik Singh and District Nodal Officer issued advisory which stated that the disease is transmitted to domesticated pigs through direct contact from wild boars. Also Read | Flash floods near Vaishno Devi temple, movement of devotees halted The disease spreads through infected pigs through contaminated feed, clothes, boots, tires etc. According to the issued advisory, symptoms of the disease are: fever, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, runny nose/eyes, chills, bloody stools, red/bluish-purple rash on the skin especially on the ears, bleeding from the faeces and nose flowing, vomiting, lethargy etc. According to the advisory, there is no vaccine or effective treatment for this disease, only precautionary measures should be taken. Those working in the farmers should pay close attention to the cleanliness and hygiene especially of boots, clothes, etc. Similarly, vehicle/motorcycle tires should be thoroughly disinfected before entering the farm, farm waste should be properly disposed of and not thrown in the open, and proper pest control should also be implemented. There is complete restriction to the person coming to the farm, no exchange of pigs and tools in farms will take place. Also Read | Cloudburst hits Uttarakhand's Dehradun, SDRF swings into action According to the advisory, this disease does not occur in humans. -PTC News