Aizawl: An outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) has claimed the lives of several wild boars in Mizoram’s Serchhip district, with laboratory tests confirming the presence of the viral disease, officials said on Monday.
Carcasses of around 20 wild boars were recently found in forest areas near Thentlang village, following which locals alerted the state Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department.
Bone marrow samples collected from the carcasses tested positive for ASF, with the results confirmed on January 16, an official said.
Local residents said wild boar carcasses had been sighted in the Thentlang area since the first week of December last year.
Officials noted that sporadic deaths of wild boars have been reported in different parts of the state since ASF first surfaced in Mizoram in 2021.
Similar incidents were recorded in July 2022, when wild boar carcasses were found in forested areas of Champhai district along the Myanmar border, with laboratory tests confirming ASF.
In September 2024, highly decomposed carcasses were also spotted near Bungtlang South village in Lawngtlai district close to the Myanmar border.
Although samples could not be collected due to decomposition, the deaths were suspected to be ASF-related.
A few wild boars were also found dead near Saipum village in Kolasib district bordering Assam in September last year, officials said.
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ASF was first detected in Mizoram on March 21, 2021, at Lungsen village in Lunglei district near the Bangladesh border.
Since then, the disease has had a devastating impact on the state’s pig population.
Officials said over 72,000 pigs have died due to ASF, while nearly 53,000 others were culled to contain its spread, affecting more than 12,500 families and causing an estimated financial loss of Rs 1,011.27 crore.
Between March and December last year alone, 9,711 pigs died from ASF and 3,620 were culled as a preventive measure.
During the same period, the outbreak affected 3,867 families, with losses estimated at Rs 114.64 crore, officials added.
