Nghe An province issues urgent directive on preventing and controlling African swine fever.

The official dispatch clearly states the causes of the epidemic:(1) Pathogens are circulating widely in livestock, and floods are spreading pathogens from animal carcass burial sites and waste from livestock farms;(2) Farmers are complacently increasing and restocking their herds without applying biosecurity measures or proactively vaccinating their livestock. (3) Small-scale slaughtering, trading, and transportation activities are difficult to control;(4)Many localities have been negligent in disease prevention and control efforts;(5)Disease surveillance was not timely; (6)Farmers are concealing outbreaks and selling sick pigs... Therefore, the risk of widespread disease outbreaks in the coming period is very high, especially in the last months of 2020, during the Lunar New Year and the beginning of 2021.

Pigs infected with African swine fever are being destroyed in Dien Lien commune (Dien Chau district). Photo by Xuan Hoang.

1. People's Committees of districts, cities, and towns

- Continue to vigorously and comprehensively implement solutions for preventing and controlling livestock and poultry diseases in accordance with the regulations of the Veterinary Law, the directives of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Provincial People's Committee (Decision No. 812/QD-UBND dated March 19, 2019, Decision No. 3385 dated October 1, 2020, Urgent Telegram No. 10/CD-UBND dated April 14, 2020, Urgent Telegram No. 33/CD-UBND dated September 24, 2020, Directive No. 06/CT-UBND dated March 18, 2020 on focusing on the vigorous and comprehensive implementation of solutions for preventing and controlling livestock and poultry diseases and African Swine Fever...).

- Establish working groups led by leaders of the People's Committees of districts, cities, and towns to inspect disease control work in communes currently experiencing African Swine Fever (ASF). Direct the Department of Agriculture/Economics and the Agricultural Service Center to send technical staff teams directly to communes with ASF outbreaks that have not yet passed 21 days to coordinate with local authorities in organizing measures to thoroughly handle the outbreaks, control and prevent the disease from recurring and spreading widely. Declare an outbreak when there is a tendency for rapid spread to a wide area, in accordance with Article 26 of the Veterinary Law.

- Mobilize all available resources and focus on decisively implementing measures to prevent and control African Swine Fever (ASF), considering this a key and urgent task now and in the future. Proactively monitor, collect samples, and send them for testing to detect outbreaks early.

- Successfully implement the month-long sanitation, disinfection, and sterilization program according to Plan No. 3760/KH-SNN-CNTY dated November 9, 2020, of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on the implementation of disinfection and sterilization of the livestock environment to prevent and control animal diseases after the 4th flood of 2020 in Nghe An province.

- Intensify information and communication efforts to raise public awareness of the dangers of African Swine Fever (ASF), encourage the application of biosecurity measures in livestock farming, and ensure the implementation of the "six no's" in ASF prevention and control: No concealing outbreaks; No buying, selling, or transporting sick or dead pigs; No slaughtering or consuming meat from sick or dead pigs; No discarding dead pig carcasses into the environment; No using unprocessed leftover feed for pigs; No using untreated river, pond, or canal water for bathing pigs, cleaning barns, or giving pigs water to drink.

- Establish inter-agency mobile task forces at the district level to control the transportation of animals and animal products, inspecting locations involved in the trading, transportation, and slaughter of livestock and poultry. Strictly handle violations according to regulations.

- Allocate funds to implement effective disease prevention and control measures.

ButDirecting the People's Committees of communes, wards, and towns:

+ Proactively implement surveillance to detect early signs of African Swine Fever (ASF) in pigs. Organize the proper disposal of infected pigs according to established procedures. Absolutely prohibit farmers from self-disposing of infected pigs, as this could spread the disease. Disinfect pens containing infected pigs that have been disposed of with lime powder. Effectively manage slaughter control and the transportation of pigs and pig products into and out of the affected area. Strictly penalize cases of failure to report disease outbreaks, selling, slaughtering, or disposing of carcasses of infected or suspected infected pigs into the environment.

+ Require pig farms and households to: Voluntarily declare their livestock farming activities in accordance with the Livestock Law and Circular No. 23/2014/TT-BNNPTNT dated November 30, 2019, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development guiding some provisions of the Livestock Law on livestock farming activities for monitoring and management. Organizations and individuals that arbitrarily restock without permission from the local authorities, fail to declare their livestock farming activities; fail to comply with mandatory vaccination for livestock as stipulated in Circular No. 07/2016/TT-BNNPTNT dated May 31, 2016, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development regulating the prevention and control of terrestrial animal diseases; and fail to implement proactive disease prevention according to the guidance of local authorities and specialized agencies, will be ineligible for state support policies when an outbreak occurs and requires culling.

+ Instruct livestock farmers to regularly clean and disinfect areas to prevent disease, proactively purchase lime powder and disinfectant chemicals to sterilize walkways and barns, and create disinfectant pits in front of barns; minimize the number of people and visitors entering the barn area; implement measures to prevent rats, insects, birds, etc. from entering the livestock area, and provide separate clothing and boots when entering barns;

+ Organize the vaccination campaign for livestock and poultry in the Autumn of 2020, ensuring 100% vaccination coverage.

Que Phong district has directed communes affected by the disease to strictly implement measures to prevent and control African swine fever, including establishing disease control checkpoints. Photo: Xuan Hoang

2. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development directs:

- The working group established by Decision 729/QD-SNN.CNTY dated September 25, 2020, of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is urgently organizing inspections of disease prevention and control work at the grassroots level, especially in districts where outbreaks have occurred within the past 21 days.

- The inter-agency mobile task force (established by Decision 125/QD-SNN.QLKT-KHCN dated March 4, 2019, of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) coordinates with relevant agencies to strengthen control over the transportation of animals and animal products to prevent African Swine Fever (ASF) in the province, and strictly handles violations according to regulations.

ButSub-Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine:

+ Deploy technical staff directly to localities where African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreaks have occurred within the last 21 days, coordinating with local authorities to organize measures to thoroughly handle the outbreaks, control and prevent the disease from spreading widely.

+ Ensure adequate supplies, personal protective equipment, and chemicals are prepared to serve the epidemic control efforts promptly and effectively.

3. Department of Finance:The Chairman shall preside over and coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to advise the Provincial People's Committee on allocating funds for the prevention and control of African Swine Fever (ASF) in accordance with regulations.

4. Department of Natural Resources and Environment:The presiding authority, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, will provide guidance on burial locations and techniques for controlling and treating the environment when disposing of pigs and pig products; and will guide measures for treating the environment, wastewater, and waste from slaughterhouses and pig bathing facilities, etc.

5. Provincial Police, Department of Industry and Trade, Market Management Department:Directing subordinate forces and units to coordinate with the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine and local authorities to strengthen inspection, control, arrest, and strictly handle illegal activities.Organizations and individuals engaged in the trading and transportation of smuggled animals and animal products, those of unknown origin, and those that do not meet veterinary hygiene and food safety standards.

6. Provincial Radio and Television Station, Nghe An Newspaper:Intensify widespread public awareness campaigns about the disease situation, risk factors, and disease prevention and control measures for livestock and poultry so that people do not panic and can proactively apply effective disease prevention measures for their animals.

7. Relevant departments and agencies:Based on its functions, duties, and powers, the local authorities should proactively coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People's Committees of districts, cities, and towns to implement decisive and comprehensive measures to effectively prevent and control African Swine Fever (ASF).

Authorities are inspecting and educating traders in markets about safe pork practices amidst the complex outbreak of African swine fever. (Photo: Thanh Phuc)

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requests the Chairmen of the People's Committees of districts, cities, and towns; the Directors of Departments, and the Heads of relevant provincial-level agencies to strictly implement this Official Dispatch./.