African swine fever is spreading in 16 districts and towns of Nghe An.

The resurgence of African swine fever has caused economic damage to many livestock farming households in Yen Thanh district. Photo: Xuan Hoang

These days, the loudspeaker system of Nam Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) continuously informs people about the disease.African swine feverre-emerged in the commune. Many pig farmers are worried, because the price of pigs is falling sharply, and with the addition of disease, the damage is great. Accordingly, local authorities have implemented epidemic prevention and control solutions according to regulations; pig farmers have proactively implemented disinfection solutions in barn areas; pig slaughtering in the commune has temporarily stopped...

Mr. Hoang Van Sam - Chairman of Nam Thanh Commune People's Committee said that African swine fever has recurred since October 2, up to now, 15 pigs have been infected and destroyed in Tay Ho and Phan Dang Luu hamlets (these are old outbreaks that occurred in 2020). In that situation, the commune focused on implementing epidemic prevention solutions according to regulations, in order to control the epidemic soon, so from October 17 to 23, no new outbreaks occurred.

According to information from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the districtYen Thanhsaid that African swine fever recurred in the district since September 13, up to now there have been 176 households in 88 hamlets, 27 communes; the number of pigs destroyed is 646, weighing over 34,000 kg. In which, the communes with complicated epidemic developments are: Khanh Thanh, Cong Thanh, Nam Thanh, Trung Thanh, Vinh Thanh, Long Thanh, Dong Thanh, Kim Thanh, Ly Thanh, Phu Thanh...

Dien Chau district's professional agency destroys infected pigs. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Le Van Hong - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Yen Thanh district said: The reason for the recurrence of African swine fever in Yen Thanh is because the African swine fever virus has high resistance, can survive for a long time in the environment, and has diverse and complicated transmission routes, while there is currently no medicine or vaccine to prevent the disease.

The weather is complicated, heavy rains cause flooding in many places, creating conditions for pathogens to survive and spread widely. Because insects and rats carry pathogens from one place to another. Vaccination for livestock and poultry has not been focused on, the vaccination rate is too low, not reaching the protection rate, so epidemics easily arise and spread. Some livestock farmers still hide the epidemic, when pigs get sick, they do not declare it, deliberately slaughter them for consumption, and mix with pigs.

Pig farmsre-herd, increasing the herd a lot, while the breeding conditions do not ensure biosafety, buying breeds of unknown origin, not declaring to local authorities.

The locality continues to mobilize the entire political system; allocate funds and human resources for epidemic prevention and control; and deploy epidemic prevention and control measures according to directives and instructions from superiors and specialized agencies.

Instruct livestock farmers to declare livestock herds according to the provisions of the Law on Livestock. Advise people not to increase or re-herd when the barns do not ensure biosafety and veterinary hygiene.

Mr. Le Van Hong - Head of Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Yen Thanh district

Pig farmers proactively take measures to disinfect and sterilize their pigs. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, African swine fever is still complicated in the province. Currently, 16/21 districts, towns and cities still have pigs infected with the disease, including localities with complicated epidemic developments: Nghi Loc, Do Luong, Dien Chau, Con Cuong, Nam Dan, Que Phong, Nghia Dan, Quy Hop, Tuong Duong, Yen Thanh, Hung Nguyen, Anh Son, Ky Son... However, the epidemic mainly occurs in small-scale livestock households, so localities are zoning to control the epidemic.

Mr. Ngo Duc Quynh - Deputy Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine said that the cold and rainy weather is favorable for the spread of the disease. To reduce the spread of the disease, localities need to step up propaganda work to raise people's awareness of disease prevention; farmers should not slaughter or sell off pigs when they show signs of illness, but report to local authorities to find solutions to control the disease on a small scale.

Currentlypig priceLivestock prices are hitting rock bottom, livestock farmers are losing money because input prices are rising, so if the disease cannot be controlled, livestock farmers will suffer even more losses. Therefore, localities need to strengthen drastic measures to prevent and control the disease, following the guidance of professional agencies./.