Kathmandu. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has urged the farmers to adopt high alertness as pig and pig are at risk of the African Swine Virus at present.

The Ministry has urged the people to adopt biosecurity at pig rearing farms as no vaccine against the disease is available so far and to immediately inform the Livestock Service Centre or the concerned body at the federal, provincial and local levels in case of death of pigs and pigs.

African swine fever is caused by the virus in domestic pigs, pigs and wild boars, which cause symptoms such as high fever (104 to 107 degrees), redness of the outer skin of the ears, tail and lower abdomen.

Blue spots appear on the animal’s body, do not eat, vomit, and writhe. Although the death rate of animals is high, it does not transmit it from animals to humans, said Dr Sanjiv Pandit of the Centre for Agriculture, Information and Training under the Ministry.

According to him, the Centre has disseminated message to the farmers to adopt necessary precaution to prevent the spread of the infection. He urged all to adopt high precaution as there is a risk of the infection spreading easily while transporting meat products from one place to another if one comes in contact with pigs, pigs and their young children or other animals with such symptoms.

According to the Centre, infection of African Swine Fever was first detected in Nepal three years ago. More than 10,000 pigs and pigs have been infected in the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas.