Kottayam: An outbreak of African Swine Fever, a highly contagious disease that affects pigs, has been reported in two villages in Kottayam district. The outbreak was detected at pig farms in Koottickal and Vazhoor grama panchayats, officials announced on Friday.

To control the spread of the disease, Kottayam District Collector John V Samuel has ordered the culling of all pigs in the affected farms.

"All pigs in the affected farms and within a one-kilometre radius will be culled and disposed of according to Central Government guidelines," Samuel said. The District Animal Husbandry Officer will supervise this process.

The area within one kilometre of the affected farms has been declared an infected zone, while a 10-kilometre radius around the farms will be under surveillance. As a precaution, the sale, distribution, and transportation of pork, pigs, or feed from these areas have been banned.

Officials emphasised that African Swine Fever is different from the H1N1 swine flu. It only affects pigs and does not spread to humans or other animals.

However, the disease has no vaccine or preventive treatment, leading to a high death rate among pigs, which has created a critical situation.

PTI