African swine fever re-emerges in many mountainous communes of Nghe An
Since the beginning of July, in Mon Son and Con Cuong communes, African swine fever has re-emerged strongly, hundreds of pigs have had to be destroyed.
According to statistics from Mon Son and Con Cuong communes, since the beginning of July, 24 outbreaks have been recorded, with a total of 500 pigs infected and destroyed. Most of the affected households are small-scale farmers with limited hygiene and disease control conditions. In Mon Son commune alone, 18 outbreaks have been detected, with nearly 400 pigs destroyed.
Mr. Ngo Dang Trung in Cua Rao village, Mon Son commune said: "When the pigs stopped eating, I immediately reported it to the commune veterinarian. I felt sorry, but when the officers came to destroy them, I immediately complied. Now I have to disinfect regularly and wait for support from the commune."
As soon as information about the outbreak was received, the commune authorities immediately activated the Steering Committee for Disease Prevention and Control, implementing emergency measures such as isolating the outbreak, destroying sick pigs, spraying disinfectants, and temporarily stopping the buying, selling, and transporting of pigs in and out of the epidemic area.
Mr. Vi Van Truong - Head of the Economic Department of Mon Son Commune said: "We have assigned veterinary officers to high-risk villages and hamlets to strengthen supervision, and at the same time, strictly check transportation and slaughter activities. People are also advised not to hide the epidemic and not to sell sick pigs."
Propaganda work is given special attention, helping people to identify early signs of the epidemic and coordinate with the authorities in declaring and handling outbreaks.
Not only stopping in Mon Son commune, in less than 2 weeks, the epidemic continued to appear in villages and hamlets in Con Cuong commune such as Tan Dan, Trung Chinh, Trung Huong, Thuy Khe... Local authorities have destroyed 60 pigs.
Among them, Mrs. Than Thi Bich's family in Trung Huong village had 9 pigs ready to be sold, but when she discovered the pigs were sick, she reported it to the authorities and destroyed the entire herd.
Ms. Than Thi Bich said: “When I first heard about the African swine fever, I was very confused because my family had 9 pigs ready to sell. When I discovered that one pig was infected, I reported it to the village, the village reported it to the commune to verify and agreed to destroy the whole herd.”
Immediately after recording the outbreak, the People's Committee of Con Cuong commune held an emergency meeting with the Steering Committee for livestock and poultry disease prevention and control, proposing urgent measures such as setting up temporary quarantine checkpoints, spraying disinfectants, and sterilizing the entire epidemic and risk areas. Along with that, the destruction of infected livestock and financial support for affected people were also implemented. All activities of buying, selling, and transporting livestock in and out of the epidemic area were banned within 21 days. Commune officials also went to each village, hamlet, and household to propagate and guide livestock farmers to recognize signs of the disease and preventive measures.
Mr. Cao Tien Thinh - Head of the Economic Department of Con Cuong commune said: "With the motto of quick detection, compact containment, and thorough handling, the commune government closely coordinates with neighboring communes to share information, monitor inter-regional epidemics, and agree on synchronous measures."
Although African swine fever is dangerous, it can be completely controlled if disease prevention measures are strictly implemented. The initiative of local authorities, vigilance and cooperation from the people are the decisive factors to gradually repel the disease, protect livestock and stabilize farmers' livelihoods./.
