Risk of African swine fever in wild boars rises

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT, Bharatpur, Aug 16: Health experts have said that wild boars across the country are at risk of being infected with African swine fever if precautionary measures are not taken in timely manner. Currently, such cases have been detected in domesticated boars across the country. 

Stating that African swine fever is a viral disease, Sushil KC, senior animal department officer of Veterinary Hospital and Animal Specialist Centre, Bharatpur, said that all the animals living in one cage would die at once if a single animal is infected with the disease.

 He informed that 900 domesticated boars raised in one cage of Devnagar, Bharatpur-7, had died within a month. 

The disease identified in mid-July this year is suspected to have spread over other animal cages in Chitwan. 

After 400 pigs died in a cage of Ichchakamana Rural Municipality-7, their samples were sent to the Central Animal and Poultry Disease Research Laboratory in Kathmandu for the test.

Hari Bhadra Acharya, chief conservation officer of Chitwan National Park, said that the disease, which is seen in domesticated pigs and boars, has not yet been seen in the wild boars. He said that although wildebeests were found dead in the park, they have not died in large numbers yet.