28 communes of Thanh Chuong district have African swine fever

Since the beginning of 2021, African swine fever has re-emerged in 28 communes in Thanh Chuong district. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to data from the Agricultural Service CenterThanh Chuong districtsaid that on the morning of March 26, in the district, there were 3 more communes with pigs testing positive for African swine fever, including: Thanh Tung, Thanh Phong, Thanh Duong.

The total number of communes with pigs infected with African swine fever in Thanh Chuong district has increased to 28/38 communes, including: Dai Dong, town, Dong Van, Thanh Linh, Thanh Tien, Thanh Hoa, Thanh Nho, Thanh Khe, Thanh Lien, Phong Thinh, Thanh An, Thanh Chi, Thanh Khe... The number of pigs that had to be destroyed was nearly 1,200, with a total weight of nearly 86,000 kg. Thus, Thanh Chuong district is "hot" with the disease again.African swine feverfrom 2019 to present.

Farmers in Thanh An commune spray disinfectant in the barn area. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Thanh Chuong district determined that the cause of the outbreak in the district is: The communes with the outbreak are all old outbreak areas in 2019 and 2020, the pathogen has existed in the livestock environment and susceptible animals. Disinfection and sterilization work has not been regular and continuous. After Tet, people re-herded pigs but rarely applied biosafety measures, did not declare to local authorities... The weather is changing erratically, with heavy rain and wind causing water sources, manure, and waste from households to spread into the environment, through canals and ditches into ponds and lakes, which farmers use to bathe, clean barns and feed and drink pigs.

Faced with the situation of African swine fever "heating up" again in many communes, Thanh Chuong District People's Committee directed localities to implement solutions.prevention and control of epidemics: Set up signs for epidemic areas and signs for burial pits for sick pigs. Make disinfection pits on roads leading to and from epidemic households. Provide chemicals, disseminate information, and instruct neighboring households and areas around epidemic households to do a good job of disinfection to limit the spread of pathogens.

People in Thanh Phong commune (Thanh Chuong) sprinkle lime powder in front of their gates to prevent African swine fever. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Destroy all diseased pigs that must be destroyed promptly, according to regulations. Count the total pig herd in the epidemic area and the area threatened by the epidemic to have appropriate measures to implement when an epidemic occurs. Absolutely do not let people trade, transport, slaughter, or throw dead pigs into the environment, and do not increase the herd in the epidemic area.

Organizationdisinfectionin the epidemic-affected hamlet and the epidemic-threatened area according to the developed scenario. Establish checkpoints on the main roads leading in and out of the commune. Proactively allocate funds from the commune's reserve fund to serve the epidemic prevention and control work such as: checkpoint costs, destruction, disinfection, purchase of chemicals, lime powder, etc.