Nghe An livestock farmers proactively prevent African swine fever

Proactively prevent epidemics in barns

Mr. Nguyen Trong Huu's family in Dong Thinh hamlet, Ky Son commune (Tan Ky) is currently raising 40 pigs. With African swine fever appearing in some localities, especially the "neighboring" province of Thanh Hoa, Mr. Huu has begun to worry.

"My family's pigs have only been released for 2 months, weighing nearly 40 kg each, so they cannot be sold yet. Afraid that African swine fever will spread to the pigs, I clean the barn every day and spray disinfectant in the barn area. I regularly monitor the health of the pigs. For now, I will keep the pigs in the barn and not import more breeding pigs to increase the herd," Mr. Huu shared.

People in Ky Son commune, Tan Ky district spray disinfectant chemicals inside and outside the pig farming area. Photo: Quang An

At the pig breeding trading point at the head of the Ba Ra Do Luong bridge, next to National Highway 15, in Trang Son commune (Do Luong), the buying and selling of pig breeding is still bustling these last days of February. When asked about African swine fever, the pig traders here said: Most of the pig breeding traded here are from Do Luong district, then transported to other districts for consumption, so there is no African swine fever.

However, people also said that specialized agencies need to monitor daily to prevent traders from transporting piglets from other provinces for consumption, causing African swine fever to spread.

Han-lodine 10%, this chemical is being used by farmers to spray disinfectants daily in barn areas. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh, a pig breeder here, said: This pig breeder market only opens for 2 hours every day, with hundreds of pigs. Therefore, with the complicated developments of African swine fever, people want the veterinary agency to send officers to monitor and know the origin of the pigs so that people can feel secure.

These days, Mr. Hoang Quoc Hai in Tien Phong commune, Que Phong district is busy with the work of preventing swine fever. As a large-scale pig farmer in the district, as soon as information about the outbreak of swine fever in our country was received, he focused on implementing measures to ensure the safety of his pigs.

Mr. Hai shared that his farm currently has 2,000 pigs and hundreds of sows. As soon as he saw the news about swine fever, he cordoned off the farm, and anyone entering or leaving the farm had to be disinfected with chemicals. In addition, he focused on taking care of the pigs and selling them, not importing new pigs because of concerns about their origin. Every day, he followed the measures instructed by veterinary staff.

Pig farm owners are worried about the complicated spread of African swine fever in some localities in the country. Photo: Xuan Hoang

"Since the news of African swine fever, the pork market has slowed down, pork prices have dropped... During Tet, live pigs cost 50,000 - 52,000 VND/kg, now they are only 44,000 - 45,000 VND/kg. Not only have the selling prices decreased, but pork is also more difficult to sell because most traders are not interested in buying pigs during this time," Mr. Hai added.

Focus on propaganda and supervision of pig transportation

Tan Ky district has developed pig farming in recent years, with many large pig farms. Therefore, in the face of the complicated situation of African swine fever in some localities, the district has directed specialized agencies and commune authorities to strengthen propaganda work to help people understand African swine fever, and at the same time provide guidance on disease prevention.

At the pig breeding trading point at the Ba Ra Do Luong bridge, next to National Highway 15A, hundreds of pig breeding are traded here every day. People believe that specialized agencies need to have daily epidemic prevention solutions. Photo: Quang An

According to Mr. Le Duc Tinh - Head of the Tan Ky District Veterinary Station: There are currently 54,000 pigs in the district, including 35 farms and ranches. With the local characteristics of having main traffic routes into the area such as: National Highway 15A, Ho Chi Minh Road and some other routes from Quy Hop district to Nghia Dan, Anh Son, there is a high risk of spreading African swine fever.

Faced with the situation of African swine fever appearing not only domestically but also before appearing in Vietnam, implementing the direction of the province, the People's Committee of Tan Ky district issued a directive on organizing the synchronous implementation of solutions to strengthen the prevention of African swine fever in the area since November 2018.

Immediately after African swine fever appeared in some provinces in the country, implementing the provincial directive, Tan Ky District People's Committee continued to issue directives to localities, further strengthening epidemic prevention work on pig herds.

Pigs from other places are likely to be the source of African swine fever. Photo: Quang An

In the immediate future, the district will assign localities to focus on disseminating information about the harmful effects of African swine fever to farmers, especially farms and households that raise many pigs. At the same time, vaccination against diseases will be carried out in the 2019 Spring crop. To deal with African swine fever, Tan Ky district is currently preparing measures to prevent the disease if it occurs. That is, establishing checkpoints on key routes; the district Veterinary Station is preparing a certain amount of disinfectant chemicals for treatment when necessary.

According to data from the District Veterinary Station, by February 26, a number of communes in the district had registered the number of pigs vaccinated in the Spring crop; the district is waiting for the province's vaccine source to deploy vaccination on March 15.

Mr. Vo Dinh Khoa - Head of the Veterinary Station of Do Luong district said: Implementing the direction of the District People's Committee, from February 27, the Station will assign staff to the grassroots to grasp the disease situation in the pig herd; at the same time, monitor the transportation of pigs in and out of the area, avoiding the situation of pigs of unknown origin entering the area.