African swine fever outbreak in Hoa Quan commune (Nghe An province)

Disease hotspots

According to a report from the Hoa Quan Commune People's Committee, as of July 13th, the locality had recorded 1,063 dead and culled pigs, with a total weight of over 60 tons, belonging to 126 households. Notably, the disease has spread to 22 out of 28 hamlets in the area.

Visiting the family of Mr. Pham Van Hien (Son Thuy hamlet), we witnessed the empty pig pens, replaced by the pungent smell of lime powder, a remnant of a recent pig culling operation. Ms. Dinh Thi Thanh Huyen, Mr. Hien's wife, said: "In less than a week, the family has culled 80 market pigs and 32 others showing signs of infection, awaiting further culling. With an initial herd of over 280 pigs, plus 15 sows, the losses are enormous."

Not far away, the family of Ms. Hoang Thi Nga also had to cull 23 pigs in the past few days. Ms. Nga is worried, as her family still has a separate herd of pigs and she doesn't know if they will survive this outbreak.

Ultimately, disease outbreaks don't just stem from objective factors like dangerous viruses or unpredictable weather. A large part of the cause lies in loopholes in control measures and public awareness.

According to Mr. Le Van Ty, Vice Chairman of the Hoa Quan Commune People's Committee, African swine fever has re-emerged strongly since the beginning of July. The main reason is the difficulty in controlling the transportation and trading of pigs between infected and uninfected areas. Meanwhile, erratic weather patterns weaken the animals' resistance, creating favorable conditions for the virus to spread.

Furthermore, some small-scale livestock farmers are not implementing biosecurity measures and are continuing to restock their herds before the quarantine period is over. Many cases are also concealing outbreaks and not reporting them to the authorities, making it difficult to contain and thoroughly address the problem.

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Since the beginning of July, the commune has intensified its information and communication efforts through the commune's public address system regarding the characteristics, harmful effects, and dangerous nature of infectious diseases so that people understand and voluntarily implement preventive measures, and report outbreaks when they occur.

Mr. Le Van Ty - Vice Chairman of Hoa Quan Commune People's Committee

Not only in Hoa Quan commune, but African swine fever is also spreading rapidly to neighboring localities. It is known that many localities such as Anh Son, Dai Dong, Yen Xuan, Tam Dong, Quan Thanh, Giai Lac… have also recorded outbreaks, with increasing levels of damage.

Common characteristics among these localities include small-scale, scattered livestock farming; inadequate hygiene in livestock facilities; a lack of awareness among the population regarding disease prevention; and low vaccination rates during the Spring 2025 campaign. These factors make livestock susceptible to disease.

The authorities warned: “The disease may continue to spread widely. The pathogen still exists in the environment and in livestock. Without comprehensive measures, the economic losses for people will be enormous, directly affecting the province's livestock development plan for 2025.”

What solutions can stop the cycle of renewed outbreaks?

To control and combat African swine fever, local authorities need to tighten isolation measures and thoroughly handle outbreaks at each household. Disinfection and sterilization should be carried out regularly using chemicals and lime powder, not only in the pig farms but also in transportation routes, collection points, and livestock trading areas.

Local authorities need to coordinate with inter-agency forces to strictly control the transportation of pigs between regions, while severely punishing violations such as concealing outbreaks and discarding pig carcasses into the environment. In the long term, transforming livestock farming models towards biosafety and large-scale farming is a key solution to reduce the risk of disease outbreaks.

Each livestock farming household must be a "disease prevention fortress," absolutely refraining from restocking before the quarantine period is complete, avoiding the purchase of breeding stock of unknown origin, and strictly following the recommendations of veterinary authorities.

African swine fever poses a persistent threat to the livestock industry, especially in localities heavily reliant on small-scale farming like Nghe An. This signals the need for local authorities to be more decisive in disease prevention and control.