Classical Swine Fever

• 23 Apr 2020

Why in News

Recently, few districts of eastern Assam have reported the death of more than 1,300 pigs within a week due to the classical swine fever (CSF).

Key Points

• It has added to the worries of the pig farmers who are already troubled due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
• Assam has the most farmed pigs in the country according to the 20^th livestock census from 2012-2019.
  
  • The pork market in the region is more than $1 billion.
  • Data shows that the eight north-eastern States with Assam at its core consume more than 65% of the 4.26 lakh metric tonnes of pork produced in the country.
• Classical Swine Fever is also known as hog cholera and is a contagious viral disease of domestic and wild swine.
• Unlike Swine Flu (H1N1) that attacks humans, classical swine fever is a viral disease that affects pigs only. It can be controlled by proper vaccination of pigs in time.
  
  • African Swine Fever is another kind of swine fever.
• Prevention and Control:
  
  • Treatment is not attempted.
    
    • Affected pigs must be slaughtered and the carcass buried or burnt.
  • The first barrier to prevent an outbreak of the CSF is to apply strict and rigorous sanitary treatment.
  • Vaccination can prevent the spread of the disease.
  • The OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code defines the requirements for a country or a zone to be considered free of the disease.

World Organisation for Animal Health

• OIE is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for improving animal health worldwide.
• In 2018, it had a total of 182 Member Countries. India is one of the member countries.
• OIE standards are recognised by the World Trade Organization as reference international sanitary rules.
• It is headquartered in Paris, France.

Source: TH