Shillong, May 7 (PTI) No case of African Swine Fever has been reported in Meghalaya so far, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said on Thursday.

His statement came after reports emerged of deaths of a few pigs in two districts of the state.

"We had sent 25 samples for tests, out of which reports of eight have returned negative while the remaining results are awaited," he said.

The deputy chief minister said the pigs that died might have been suffering from "some local influenza".

The state government has banned the procurement of pigs from other states and also restricted inter-district transportation of the animal to prevent an outbreak of African Swine Fever.

Over 2,900 pigs have died of the disease in neighbouring Assam.

The Meghalaya veterinary department has been put on high alert and owners of all piggery farms in the state have been asked to immediately inform authorities if any case of African Swine Fever is detected, officials said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)