Nghe An: Straining in the heat to fight African swine fever

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thanh, an officer at the Bac Nghe An Animal Quarantine Station, said: "As assigned by the station's leadership, I and my colleagues in the on-duty team always stick to our positions to control and quarantine animals passing through the area day and night, regardless of Saturdays and Sundays."

"Our job is to always be on duty outside. Many trucks carrying animals pass by the station at noon, but we still climb on the trucks, regardless of the hot weather, to check the animals, spray disinfectant, and then let the trucks go," said Mr. Thanh.

Officers of the Northern Nghe An Animal Quarantine Station were on duty all afternoon to control the transportation of pigs. Photo: Viet Hung

The African swine fever quarantine checkpoint located at the Bac Nghe An Animal Quarantine Station has 4 officers (2 station officers, 1 traffic police officer and 1 market management officer) on duty day and night, taking turns on duty, especially during the recent hot days. Knowing it is hard work, the officers here still actively control vehicles, not missing any cases passing through the station.

Mr. Dau Dang Dinh - Head of the Northern Nghe An Animal Quarantine Station said that the current situation of African swine fever is complicated and spreading very quickly in Nghe An. As the unit responsible for controlling the transportation of animals and animal products, it has focused highly and assigned full staff to work 3 shifts/day.

During the process of setting up the quarantine checkpoint, the station was provided with some sun protection equipment such as umbrellas, electric fans, etc. by superiors.

The station's staff did not miss any cases of livestock transport vehicles passing through the area. Photo: Viet Hung

“During the time of setting up quarantine checkpoints to prevent African swine fever, there were many vehicles

transporting pigs into Nghe An. In addition to checking documents and spraying disinfectants, in these cases, the station will call the veterinary force of the districts to monitor and check to control the disease, not allowing it to spread into the area" -

Mr. Dau Dang Dinh - Head of Bac Nghe An Animal Quarantine Station

Also during this time, the Bac Nghe An Animal Quarantine Station handled 27 violations such as: crossing the station, vehicles transporting animals without valid documents... with a total fine of more than 100 million VND.

At the quarantine checkpoint on the Ho Chi Minh trail through Nghia Lam commune (Nghia Dan), the authorities have been actively checking and controlling animals passing through the area.

Mr. Cao Minh Duc - Head of the Veterinary Station of Nghia Dan district said: "Since the establishment of the African swine fever quarantine checkpoint, the unit has always maintained 10 people (including 6 veterinary officers; 3 traffic police officers and 1 market management officer) divided into 3 shifts, each shift has 3-4 people on duty to control vehicles transporting animals and animal products through the area.

Since March 1, 557 vehicles carrying animals and animal products have passed through the checkpoint, including about 30 trucks carrying pigs. All vehicles passing through the checkpoint had their documents checked and were disinfected, and no vehicle violated the regulations.

At the animal quarantine checkpoint on Ho Chi Minh road in the commune Nghia Lam (Nghia Dan) always has 3-4 people on duty day and night. Photo: Minh Thai.

To cope with and prevent the spread of African swine fever, the People's Committee of Nghe An province previously issued Decision No. 579 on establishing temporary quarantine checkpoints to control the transportation of animals and animal products against African swine fever at two checkpoints: Ho Chi Minh road passing through Nghia Lam commune (Nghia Dan) and the Bac Nghe An Animal Quarantine Station located on National Highway 1A through Hoang Mai town.

24/7 coordination at the Bac Nghe An Animal Quarantine Station. Photo: Viet Hung

According to statistics from March 1 to May 18, the Bac Nghe An Animal Quarantine Station inspected, controlled, and disinfected more than 3,200 vehicles transporting animals, including more than 1,300 vehicles of buffalo and cows; more than 1,200 vehicles of pigs and more than 600 vehicles of poultry.

Regarding the control of pig transport vehicles, there are about 200 vehicles entering Nghe An.