Dien Chau: Pigs sick and dead due to African swine fever but slow to destroy

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Tran - head of hamlet 7, Minh Chau commune said that his family's pigs were infected with African swine fever. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Information from the Agricultural Service CenterDien Chau districtsaid, on April 1, in the district, there were 2 communes reporting sick and dead pigs: Dien Cat and Minh Chau. Present at Minh Chau commune, on April 1, it was shown that the sick and dead pigs were at the family of Mrs. Tang Thi Yen in hamlet 7. According to Mrs. Yen's family, the family bought this herd of pigs to raise 1 month ago.

Observation shows that the pig pen was built close to the house. Of the 8 pigs in the pen, 1 was dead. The pen next to it also had a sow that did not show any signs of illness. Observation shows that although Ms. Yen's family's pigs were identified as infected with the disease,African swine fever, but from the gate to the barn area, lime powder and disinfectant chemicals have not been sprinkled, while people come in and out of Ms. Yen's family frequently.

Although identified as African swine fever, the local authorities did not immediately destroy the animals. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Tran, head of Hamlet 7, also the father of Yen and her husband, said that the commune's agricultural officers and the district's Agricultural Service Center had come to check the pigs and confirmed that the pigs were infected with African swine fever. Because there were 4 households in the hamlet with pigs that tested positive for this disease, there was no need to take samples to test the sick pigs. However, the destruction of infected pigs was still slow. Meanwhile, according to the recommendations of the veterinary agency, when determining that sick pigs died from African swine fever, it is necessary to urgentlydestroy, to limit the spread of pathogens in residential areas.

On the other hand, in the villages and hamlets where African swine fever is occurring in Minh Chau commune, there are no epidemic control posts and no signs of epidemic areas to raise people's awareness of prevention and control.

Villages and hamlets with African swine fever need to have checkpoints or warning signs of epidemic areas to let people know. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huy - Vice Chairman of Minh Chau Commune People's Committee, since the beginning of 2021, African swine fever has spread to 6/11 villages and hamlets of the commune, forcing the destruction of 46 pigs.

In Dien Chau district, since the beginning of February, African swine fever has re-emerged strongly in many localities, the number of pigs forced to be destroyed is increasing. According to data from the Dien Chau District Agricultural Service Center, as of March 31, African swine fever has occurred in 111 households, 43 villages, 16 communes: Dien Loc, Dien Phu, Minh Chau, Dien Nguyen, Dien Thai, Dien Tho, Dien Dong, Dien Lam, Dien Quang, Dien Loi, Dien Tan, Dien Cat, Dien Phuc, Dien Trung, Dien Xuan, Dien Thanh. The total number of pigs destroyed is 274, with a total weight of 23,023 kg.

Currently, the province is still directing localities to implement solutions to prevent and control African swine fever according to Decision No. 812/QD-UBND dated March 19, 2019 of the Provincial People's Committee, promulgating an emergency response scenario to African swine fever in Nghe An.

Mr. Dang Van Minh - Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine