Over 300 pigs die in Mizoram, officials rule out H1N1 scare

10 Jul 2009, 1745 hrs IST, PTI

AIZAWL: More than 300 pigs have died reportedly of swine fever in south Mizoram's Lunglei and Saiha districts over the last week, even as health officials sought to allay fears of people, saying the disease was different from the dreaded H1N1 flu. At least 177 pigs died in Buknuam and neighbouring villages in Lunglei district, while over 150 died at Laki village in Saiha district along Mizoram-Myanmar border, official sources said in Aizawl on Friday. Medical officers from Saiha, who visited Laki to conduct a spot verification, said the pigs died due to the prevailing "swine fever and not the dreaded H1N1 swine flu." District veterinary officer of Lunglei district also confirmed that 177 pigs in the district died due to swine fever that has hit the state since 1980. Earlier, more than 100 pigs died in Kolasib district of the state. The import of pigs from neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh is still banned.