Classical swine fever and its current status in India: A review

Abstract

Classical swine fever (CSF) is one of the most important economically damaging diseases of pigs and it is endemic in India. The disease has been reported from almost all the pig producing states of India. Besides domestic pigs, the disease has been reported from wild pigs and pigmy hog. A shift in the sub-genotypes of CSFV has also been observed, sub-genotype 1.1 was predominant in India, but in the last few years emergence of new sub-genotypes 2.1 and 2.2 has been reported. Newer diagnostic techniques have been developed for rapid diagnosis of the disease. The North Eastern Region (NER) of India which possesses about 40% of the country's pig is facing serious problem due to regular occurrence of the disease. Due to increasing demand for pork in the NER there is unrestricted movement of pigs from other states of India and also across the international borders. Majority of the pig farming in India is in the unorganised sector and the animals are being reared under poor bio security and vaccination coverage. In the absence of readily available quality vaccines is one of the major constraints faced by the pig rearers to protect their animals against the disease. Control of CSF in India is urgent necessity to boost the morale of the pig farmers and to sustain pig production.