African swine fever reported in Kerala's Wayanad district

African swine fever has been reported from two farms at Kerala's Wayanad district, Animal Husbandry Minister J Chinchurani said on Friday.The disease was confirmed among pigs at the farms after the samples were tested at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal.The samples were sent for testing after pigs at one of the farms died en masse, said an official from the Animal Husbandry Department.

"Now the test result has confirmed the infection. Directions have been issued to cull 300 pigs of the second farm," the official said.The Department said steps are being taken to prevent the disease from being spread.The state had earlier this month tightened bio-security measures following an alert from the Centre that African swine fever had been reported in Bihar and a few northeastern states.African swine fever is a highly contagious and fatal viral disease affecting domestic pigs.