Coimbatore: Eighteen pigs were culled at a private farm in Rasipuram in Namakkal on Thursday following an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF).

“All the piglets in the farm were culled and buried deeply as per the standard operating procedure. The ASF was detected after two pigs died of a sudden illness on March 9,” said Dr S Baskar, Joint Director of the Animal Husbandry Department. Soon after the unexpected death, the farm owner took the carcass for testing at Namakkal Veterinary College. Further, the samples were sent to the Central University Laboratory in Chennai and then to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal, the results of which came positive on March 23.

Immediately, four teams of veterinarians were deployed each in the demarcated epicentre of infection, infected zone, surveillance zone and free zone to maintain a watch.

“After the government gave its nod to cull the pigs, they were culled and deeply buried on Thursday morning. Of the 20 pigs on the farm, two died in the last few days and they too were buried deeply,” the official added.

“The infected farm has been declared a containment zone barring entry to outsiders and pigs should not be reared for one year. Other piggery units should also follow bio-security measures and veterinary doctors are monitoring those farms. If there are any unusual deaths, the samples will be taken up for investigation,” Baskar said.

A team from the epidemiology centre in Chennai is likely to take up a scientific investigation to detect the source of the infection.

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