Authorities in Kannur district of Kerala have ordered the culling of pigs following an outbreak of African swine flu in Kanichar village in the district.
Officials from district animal husbandry departmentconfirmed that the first case of African swine flu was reported at a private pig farm in the district’s Malayampadi village.
After receiving the information, the authorities ordered the culling of pigs at the private farm along with another farm which is within a 10 km radius.
The authorities ordered that after the pigs are culled, the carcasses should be buries as per protocol.
Apart from this, an area of one kilometre around the farm has been declared as an infected area and the area within a 10 kilometre radius as a disease surveillance zone.
The sale and distribution of pork has also been banned for three months.
In August last year, Kerala’s Wayanad and Kannurdistricts were hotspots of African swine flu. The authorities ordered the culling of pigs in both the districts while putting pig farms under strict surveillance.