Villagers butcher dead pigs to eat because they don't know about African swine fever
(Baonghean.vn) - The pig died more than a week ago, but because they did not know what disease it had, the people of Huoi Tho village, Huu Kiem commune, Ky Son district still slaughtered it to eat.
The Regional Veterinary Agency III has tested positive for African swine fever on samples of sick pigs in Huoi Tho village, Huu Kiem commune (Ky Son). Up to now, Ky Son border district has 2 communes with this dangerous epidemic, hundreds of pigs have died and been destroyed.
Records at Huoi Tho village (Huu Kiem commune - Ky Son) at noon on May 23 showed that the village had set up a checkpoint on the only road leading in and out of the village, with a blocking force.
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| African swine fever checkpoint on the only road to Huoi Tho village. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
Village chief Vi Van Thuy said: During the days from May 15 to 21, many pigs in the village belonging to households: Moong Van Phuc, Moong Van Phong, Xeo Van Minh, Moong Van Thuyen and Xeo Van Thuong died of illness. However, because the villagers did not know what disease they had, they slaughtered and ate the meat.
On May 22, Mr. Luong Van Binh's pigs got sick, showed strange symptoms, and saw African swine fever on TV, so Mr. Binh reported it to the hamlet and commune. After that, the district veterinary officer came to take samples for testing. By the afternoon of May 22, the village received the results of the test samples, which were positive for African swine fever.
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| Spraying disinfectants on the roads of Huoi Tho village. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
This morning, the commune provided 4 liters of chemicals, 150 kg of lime powder, 1 sprayer, and some gloves and masks to help prevent the epidemic. The village also assigned 17 people to take turns at the checkpoint. Since May 22, the village has organized chemical spraying on roads and livestock farms in the village.
Currently, there are 220 pigs left in the village. Given the fact that many pigs have died from illness, the people who slaughtered them earlier will lead to the risk of the entire herd of pigs in the village dying due to African swine fever. Because the people's habit of raising pigs is to let them roam free.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Luong - Chairman of Huu Kiem Commune People's Committee said: Although the District People's Committee has not announced African swine fever in the commune, the local government has proactively implemented solutions to prevent and control the epidemic according to the directives of the superiors.
Accordingly, this morning, the commune established epidemic prevention teams, assigned specific tasks to each commune official to go to the grassroots to grasp the epidemic situation. The commune bought 250 kg of lime powder, received 22 liters of chemicals from the district and proactively bought sprayers for the chemical spraying villages.
In addition to Huoi Tho village, which has been confirmed to have an epidemic, Dinh Son village currently has sick and dead pigs. The commune has reported to the Veterinary Department for early handling to limit damage to the people.
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| The livestock farming practice of the local people is mostly free-range, so it is easy for diseases to spread. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
According to the report of the People's Committee of Ky Son district, by the morning of May 23, African swine fever had been recorded in two communes, Muong Tip and Huu Kiem. Of which, Muong Tip commune had 6 villages and Huu Kiem commune had 1 village recorded with this dangerous epidemic. Localities have destroyed 23 pigs, not to mention 117 pigs that had died before.
In addition, other localities such as Muong Ai, Bac Ly, Ta Ca, Bao Thang have 284 sick and dead pigs, the Veterinary Department has taken samples for testing.
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| Huoi Tho village, Huu Kiem commune, Ky Son border district, where black pigs and local pigs are being attacked by African swine fever. Photo: Google maps |
Ky Son currently has 26,612 pigs, most of which are local black pigs. Ethnic minorities are worried that the spread of African swine fever will affect the people's economy and the loss of valuable specialties of this remote area. Therefore, people hope that specialized agencies will soon control the epidemic.
