Mass deaths of pigs due to suspected Swine Flu
But where are the carcasses, poser raised
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 29 2020: The recent deaths of pigs reported from Tairenpokpi, Phayeng and Sekmai are suspected to have been due to Swine Flu, said Dr Haobijam Chaoba, Director, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Services today.

Speaking to media persons at the Department's office at Sanjenthong, Dr Chaoba said a team of specialist doctors of the Veterinary Disease Investigation Laboratory have investigated the deaths and they have concluded that the pigs might have died due to Swine Flu.

Veterinary disease specialist, Dr Binodkumar, who was part of the investigation team said they found 30 out of 110 swine dead at a farm belonging to one, Ningthoujam Lokendro at Tairenpokpi.

The swine before death had exhibited difficulty in breathing, sneezing etc.

The swine were found to have not been vaccinated, he said.

He further told reporters that the team did not find any proper investigation being conducted on the body of any of the dead swine.

According to the owner, the dead swine had been disposed of for "preparing manure".

The dead swine include piglets.

At Phayeng, the team found out that 13 swines out of 21 belonging to one Angom Ibohal had died due to an unknown disease.

The dead swine were about four months old.

According to the owner, the swine had shown symptoms such as vomiting, shivering of the legs.

All of the 13 died in a single day.

He had not vaccinated them, Dr Binodkumar said.

At Sekmai, five swines belonging to Ningthoujam Ongbi Sorojini had died.

At all the reported sites the team visited, they found no dead swine or their remains.

The team couldn't conduct postmortem to accurately know the cause of the deaths, he said, appealing people to report any such deaths to the Veterinary Department for proper investigation and postmortem of the dead swine.

Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Director Dr H Chaoba said the investigation was launched following the advice of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Minister O Lukhoi after media reports of the cases.

Even though the team couldn't conduct postmortem and other physical examinations, it is highly suspected that the cause of the deaths is Swine Flu as per the symptoms and accounts of the farmers, he said.

Swine Flu is a deadly disease for pigs.

It is a non-zoonotic disease meaning it will not be transmitted to humans.

Swine should be vaccinated against diseases and they should be kept in well managed pigsties.

The Department is continuing vaccination programmes and all farmers should get their swines vaccinated.

Pig sties should be installed far from away from home and one should not enter house wearing the same cloth he/she used in the pig sties, he said.

He also appealed people to report any illness and deaths of swine to the Department for proper investigation.

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