The death rate of pigs being bred on in Hakha, Chin State has been rising due to an unknown infectious disease, according to the locals. It is estimated that more than 100 pigs in the city have already died.

“ There are a lot of dead pigs in Hakha these days. I even heard two or three pigs die in one day in some pig farms”, a woman from Hakha told Khonumthung News.

A veterinarian explained” “The infected pigs can't even eat properly and are lying down all the time.

They also suffer from constipation. So it is likely to be one of the diseases of swine constipation orAfrican swine fever”.

Since there are no advanced laboratories in Chin State, it is not yet possible to confirm the exact type of disease occurring in the pigs. Infections have been detected in pig farms from Hakha since the end of September.

While the symptoms in some pigs may only last a week, in general once the pigs are infected with the disease, they only have a 50 percent chance of survival. The disease is highly contagious among pigs, but there is no evidence of pig-to-human transmission.

The veterinarian also urged people to take precautions as much as possible, because the disease spreads very quickly. She suggests not feeding the food eaten by infected pigs to other pigs, keeping the pig farms clean and tidy, and vaccinating the pigs.

In Chin State, some locals operate pig farming as a private business. There was also an outbreak of swine fever in Hakha in 2010.

In the Indian state of Mizoram, which borders Chin State, more than 40000 pigs have died in 18 months due to African swine fever.

Hakha residents are reluctant to eat pork because of the current outbreak. Currently the price of pork in the region is around 12,000 kyats per viss.