Some 13,000 hogs have died so far due to an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh over the past few weeks.

In response, all state governments in India’s northeast are on high alert and have asked people, especially owners of piggeries, to refrain from transporting pigs to other states.

Experts in northeastern India suspect that ASF came to the region from Tibet through Arunachal Pradesh.

Assam is the largest supplier of pork in the region. Pork is one of the most popular meats consumed by both tribals and non-tribals in the northeastern states.