Authorities in Zambia have began a process of slaughtering pigs infected with African swine flu in Lusaka, the country's capital, in order to contain the outbreak of the disease, a senior veterinary officer said on Tuesday.

Joseph Mubanga, director of veterinary services in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestocks told Xinhua that the slaughtering of the pigs started on Saturday and that so far 3,084 pigs have been slaughtered and the exercise will continue.

"We have so far visited 140 farms and these farms have 33,829 pigs. Out of the 140 farms, 18 have been found with animals that are with disease and this figure is at 7,033. These are the animals we are slaughtering," he said.

He however could not give the total number of pigs to be slaughtered, saying it will be premature to do so now because the number may increase or decrease depending on a number of factors.

"We will give that figure at a right time because this is an ongoing exercise," he added.

The government will compensate all farmers whose pigs will be slaughtered.

Last week, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Robert Sichinga told the media that more than 1,682 pigs have died in the past one month following the outbreak of the disease.

The government has since banned the movement of pigs and pig products from the Zambian capital in order to avert the spread of the disease.

Meanwhile, a farmers' body has expressed concern that the government's decision to ban the movement of pigs and process pigs in the Zambian capital will have negative effects on pig farmers.

The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) has since called on the government to quickly eradicate the disease in order to save the pig industry and thousands of jobs.

"We call upon government to act expeditiously in this matter to contain and halt the spread of the African swine fever so that farmers and processors could get back to conducting normal business," Calvin Kaleyi, the organization's media liaison officer said in a statement.

This is the third time African swine fever has been found in Zambia in recent years with the last outbreak recorded in 2004. The first outbreak was reported in 1994. African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease that could kill 95 to 100 percent of affected pigs.

 Source: Xinhuanet