African Swine Fever Has Entered India From China

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WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

The outbreak of African swine fever (AFS) amid the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 2,900 domestic pigs, although veterinary officials said the rate of death has decreased over the last 48 hours.
It started in April 2019 in China at a village of Xizang province bordering Arunachal Pradesh.

The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) or Xizang Autonomous Region, called Tibet or Xizang for short

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the Asfarviridaefamily.
(Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses)
It is the causative agent of African swine fever (ASF).

The first outbreak was retrospectively recognized as having occurred in 1907 after ASF was first described in 1921 in Kenya.
The disease remained restricted to Africa until 1957, when it was reported in Lisbon, Portugal.
Both Spain and Portugal had managed to eradicate the disease by the mid-1990s through a slaughter policy.

Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister Atul Bora said combating AFS was proving to be a challenge, since no vaccine or medicine has been discovered so far. “The AFS mortality rate is almost 100%. The focus is on preventing the disease from spreading and we have worked out some plans in consultation with officials, veterinary experts and pig farmers,” he said.
The Minister said the virus that causes AFS has not been found to infect humans, but they can be carriers, passing it on to uninfected pigs.

Earlier in April, there were reported deaths of pigs due to the Classical Swine Fever (CSF).
ASF and CSF are different from Swine Flu (H1N1) and do not affect humans.
CSF can be prevented by proper vaccination but there is no vaccination for ASF. Culling of the affected pigs is the only option.

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.