The Department of Livestock has culled over 700 pigs in Chiang Rai over fears that African Swine Fever may have finally crossed the border from Myanmar.
The pigs were culled within a one-kilometer radius of two farms where a number of pigs had fallen sick with symptoms that corresponded with ASF. 200 were culled around a farm in Ban San That, Moo 9 Mae Kham, Mae Chan District while a further 500 pigs are reported to have been culled at an undisclosed location in Mae Sai District.
Blood samples from the sick pigs were sent to a laboratory in Lampang for testing with the results expected to take up to 14 days to be processed.
Officials are currently not admitting that ASF has crossed the border but are instead insisting that the culls were precautionary in nature. Strict quarantine controls have been put in place in Mae Chan, Mae Sai, Chiang Saen, Wiang Kaen and Doi Luang including a complete ban on the transport of pigs without permission.
ASF has been threatening the north since 500 pigs were found dead in part of Tachilek District in Shan State, Myanmar 36 kilometers from Mae Sai in Chiang Rai Aug. 6. A positive test to ASF Aug. 15 resulted in a ban on pork products from Myanmar Aug. 16, however, the border between the two countries is notoriously porous.
Photo: Pixabay
