Why in the news: Suspected hog cholera has killed at least a dozen pigs across two districts of Meghalaya. According to a report published in the Hindu, the disease, a fairly common one, has struck a village each in East Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi districts. This case coincided with the culling of more than 2,900 pigs in Assam due to African swine fever (AFS), a first in the Indian subcontinent.
- Hog cholera is also known as classical swine fever (CSF).
- It is a highly contagious, viral disease of swine that in its most virulent form causes morbidity and mortality approaching 100%.
- Classical swine fever (CSF) occurs only in swine, and all age groups are susceptible.
- A disease now believed to have been CSF occurred in Tennessee in 1810 and in Ohio (USA) in the early 1830s.
Source: The Hindu and Iowa State University USA
