2000 pigs die in PRRS outbreak at Mizoram, pork off the menu
Source: The Sangai Express / TNN
Aizawl, May 06 2016 :
Pork has gone off the market in the town of Champhai, bordering Myanmar.
Though pork is the preferred food of the tribal people in the North East, especially Mizos, the recent outbreak of the dreaded Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) has affected sales.
No butchers have killed any pigs in the town and surrounding villages for several days.
State Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department officials said blood samples of the dead pigs were collected from Champhai and were tested in laboratories.
It was discovered that the cause of their death was PRRS.
Sources in Champhai told TOI that even smoked pork, the local delicacy, could not sell as people are extremely afraid of the PRRS outbreak which began 5 weeks ago, killing nearly 2,000 pigs till date.
The Rapid Response Team led by Joint Director of the State Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, Hmarkunga, was rushed to Champhai from Aizawl on Monday to take stock of the situation and take steps to prevent further spread of the swine disease.
Department officials said the information about pigs dying en masse was received from south Mizoram's Lunglei and Lawngtlai districts.
Veterinarians were sent to find out the cause of the deaths as the symptoms were similar to those in Champhai district.
Meanwhile, more than 400 people engaged in piggery in Champhai town and surrounding areas convened a meeting on Wednesday and demanded compensation for the loss.
They also demanded that the State Government seal the Mizoram-Myanmar border to prevent further import of pigs and piglets from Myanmar.
The first PRRS outbreak in the State occurred in 2013.While the outbreak in six out of eight districts in the State during March and April 2013 was initially thought to be that of classical swine fever, some experts suspected that many swines died or were taken ill were infected with the dreaded PRRS.
PRRS was first detected in the US in 1980 and has not been reported anywhere else except Myanmar, they said, adding that India was in the world PRRS map since then.
Paradoxically, the State Government purchased thousands of piglets in 2014 from a private supplier C Vanlalhmuaka, a well-known ruling Congress party worker who imported the piglets from Myanmar, where PRRS has been confirmed as being prevalent almost all the time.
The piglets were distributed across the State to the beneficiaries of the New Land Use Policy (NLUP), the flagship program of the Congress party, which ruled the State for two consecutive terms since December 2008 .
The Opposition Mizo National Front accused the Government of being responsible for the PRRS outbreak and demanded a probe into the outbreak.
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