Swine fever Confirmed, no official tag : Defiling the notion of vaccination
- Sangai Express Editorial :: April 25, 2013 -

Not a witch hunting exercise. Definitely not.

But then responsibilities should be fixed and the essence and meaning of accountability should not be eroded. Swine fever has been confirmed.

Confirmed from a piggery where at least 14 pigs have died. More pigs are ailing, showing symptoms of Swine fever at different places.

An indication that the death toll of 14 pigs so far recorded and reported in The Sangai Express could just be the tip of the ice-berg.

It would be humanely impossible to stop the onslaught of diseases such as Swine fever or Avian influenza, more popularly known as bird flu, but there are reasons why there is the universal practise of vaccination, whether it is for humans, domestice animals and livestock.

The logical question that follows then is, did the State Veterinary Department follow the prescribed procedures to vaccinate livestock, especially pigs ?

The Sangai Express has already published a series of stories on how unauthorised Korean vaccine was administered to pigs. Made in Korea.

Obviously Made in Korea goods are of high quality, but there is a catch here, when it comes to the Vaccine, in the backdrop of the fact that the virus strands that cause Swine fever in India and Korea are different.

Not rocket science technology and it should be easy to understand why the vaccine manufactured in Korea would not have any effect on the virus strands found in India.

How did this goof up happen ? Who are the persons responsible for prescribing this particularly vaccine ?

Has the Veterinary Department taken serious note of this ?

Will responsibilities be fixed or will it be reduced to a witch hunt exercise, where the innocents will be hounded ?

Confirmed. But why has there been no official announcement so far ? What is stopping the department concerned from issuing an official statement on the issue ?

What are the health hazards to humans, who deal with the carcasses of pigs which have died after contracting the virus that cause the fever ?

How about consuming the meat ? Any delay on the part of the department concerned and the Government can only make things more complicated.

Or is it a case of trying to cover up the tracks of the officials responsible for the goof up, committed through sheer lethargy, incompetence or indifference ? The public deserve to know the answer.

Some other important questions are also in line. What is the name of the company which produce this particular vaccine from Korea ?

What are the stipulations, such as the expiry date, the methods of administering the vaccine etc ?

A whole lot of questions and in the face of these questions, the most that the Veterinary Department has done is issue a statement, which tends to confuse more rather than enlighten. Fix responsibilities.

Give a cutting edge definition to the understanding of accountability. Criminal negligence, it surely would be.

It is not only about the deaths of some pigs, but is also about robbing the livelihood of farmers, who toil day and night to rear the animals and earn an honest living.

And it would be in the fitness of things too for the officials concerned of the Veterinary Department to entertain the calls made from the media.