African swine fever broke out in Bich Hao commune, thousands of pigs are threatened by the disease.

According to a report from the Bich Hao commune government, since the beginning of July, the locality has recorded African swine fever occurring sporadically in many livestock households, especially in the old Mai Giang commune, where there is a high density of livestock and is the hot spot of this epidemic.

A total of 17 pig-raising households were forced to destroy their pigs. Of the 246 pigs destroyed, 29 were sows with a total weight of over 21 tons. Notably, many households had to report the outbreak 2 to 3 times because the pigs did not all die on the same day, making it difficult to control and handle.

Most recently, Bich Hao commune destroyed 19 infected pigs of 2 families in Truong Son hamlet.

The destruction of infected pigs is carried out in accordance with regulations, ensuring technical requirements and environmental safety. The burial sites are mainly located in household gardens and cemetery areas of hamlets. The destruction activities are supervised by hamlet chiefs, veterinary officers, commune police, economic department specialists and livestock owners.

In addition, the Commune People's Committee has proactively purchased 100 bottles of chemicals and 300 kg of lime powder to support disinfection in epidemic areas and high-risk areas; coordinated with veterinary agencies to guide people in cleaning barns, declaring epidemics according to regulations, and monitoring epidemics after destruction.

However, during the implementation process, the locality encountered many difficulties because some households did not proactively report when detecting an epidemic, even arbitrarily burying or dumping pig carcasses in ponds, lakes, and streams, causing environmental pollution and increasing the risk of spreading the epidemic.

Mr. Nguyen Khanh Thanh - Chairman of Bich Hao Commune People's Committee said: "What is worrying is the rapid spread of the disease. The local pig herd currently has over 19 thousand pigs, and is in a state of being threatened by the disease. After this flood, the risk of the disease breaking out is stronger. The local government is actively propagating by increasing the broadcasting time and hanging banners announcing the epidemic area on the roads".

The People's Committee of Bich Hao commune proposed that the superiors consider supporting more funds to buy chemicals and lime powder to spray disinfectants at public places and heavily affected hamlets. At the same time, the local agricultural sector proposed that the commune authorities survey and build centralized destruction sites according to administrative boundaries, especially in the old Mai Giang commune, where the epidemic is still complicated with a large number of culled pigs./.