Aizawl, Sep 5 : A deadly pig virus, which first broke out in India earlier this year, has made a comeback in Mizoram. Almost 250 infected pigs have been culled in the past two months and more than 900 suspected samples are currently awaiting the tests, senior officials said.
The virus, which causes Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, is also known as blue-ear pig disease.
Earlier this year, it claimed the lives of more than 3,800 pigs in the state. Another 5,600 recovered during the epidemic.
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome leads to failed pregnancies and respiratory illnesses in young pigs.
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome was first reported in the US in 1980s and caused an epidemic in China about five years ago.
It first hit Mizoram earlier this year, with the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health issuing a disease alert in June.
Experts from a central government veterinary laboratory in Meghalaya are expected to arrive next week to assist veterinarians in Mizoram, who were recently equipped to test for the virus.
Various districts have been directed by the Centre to extend the ban on pig imports from Myanmar, from where the virus is believed to have entered the country.