Many localities in Nghe An are still subjective in preventing African swine fever.

Tan Bao• DNUM_BHZAFZCABJ 11:15

(Baonghean.vn) - Although African swine fever has appeared in the area, many days have passed, but the work of disease prevention and slaughter control in Quynh Thien ward (Hoang Mai town) and Quynh Luu district is showing the negligence and subjectivity of local authorities.

Arriving at the African swine fever quarantine checkpoint set up on provincial road 537B through An Thinh block, Quynh Thien ward (Hoang Mai town) on May 16, we discovered that at this checkpoint there were no functional forces on duty to control vehicles and spray disinfectants every time a vehicle passed by. On the road surface, the disinfectant support materials were all dry, and chemicals were not arranged in time.

According to people's feedback, the situation of functional forces "abandoning" quarantine checkpoints has been more than a week now.

A resident living near the quarantine checkpoint said that after the outbreak of African swine fever, the first few days saw police and veterinary officers at the checkpoint spraying disinfectants. But for about a week now, no one has been on duty, and vehicles have been passing by freely. The danger is that this area is close to the African swine fever outbreak.

The African swine fever quarantine checkpoint was set up by Quynh Thien ward on provincial road 537B, but for more than a week now, there has been no one on duty to spray disinfectant. (Photos taken on May 13 and 16). The disinfectants on the road have dried up and are no longer effective in preventing the disease every time a vehicle passes by. Photo: VH

Not only is the locality subjective in disease prevention, it has not strictly implemented the control of slaughter in the epidemic area. At the temporary market in Hoang Mai, in the food selling area, we recorded 4 stalls selling pork.

A pork merchant said: "There is African swine fever in the area, but we have been slaughtering pigs to sell meat since that day until now, without seeing any authorities come to check. Before, when there was blue-ear pig disease, the ward officials came and we immediately closed our shops."

According to observations, most of the stalls selling pork at Hoang Mai temporary market do not have quarantine stamps from authorities.

Previously, on May 5, Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh's family in An Thinh block, Quynh Thien ward discovered that 7 pigs out of a total herd of 14 pigs had died of unknown causes. Upon receiving the news, the town's Veterinary Station quickly took samples and sent them to the Veterinary Department of Region III for testing and the results were positive for African swine fever.

Contacting Ms. Phan Thi Tinh - a veterinary officer of Quynh Thien ward, she said she was at home. When asked "Is the slaughter and sale of pork at the market inspected by the veterinary agency?", Ms. Tinh said that small-scale slaughterhouses and self-sale are not inspected by anyone.

Mrs. Tinh also explained: "I heard that after 1 week, pork can be sold... and there are a few stalls selling it."

Địa phương chưa thực hiện nghiêm việc kiểm soát giết mổ lợn trong vùng dịch. Thịt lợn bày bán không có dấu kiểm dịch của cơ quan thú y. Ảnh: V.H

Many localities have not strictly controlled the slaughter of pigs in epidemic areas. Most of the pork sold does not have a quarantine stamp from the veterinary agency. Photo taken at markets in Quynh Luu district. Photo: VH

Not only in Hoang Mai town, the control of slaughtering and trading of pork in Quynh Luu district also shows the subjectivity of the authorities. According to the latest data, the whole Quynh Luu district currently has more than 38,000 pigs, of which more than 5,570 are sows; 21,121 are pigs for meat and 11,123 are sows. In the area, there are 87 pig slaughter facilities with 1-3 pigs/day, so the amount of pork sold to the market every day is about 17 tons.

However, according to our records, at small markets to central markets such as: Giat market, Ngo market (Son Hai commune), Tuan market (Quynh Chau commune)... pork is sold everywhere without quarantine stamps from the Veterinary agency.

Quynh Luu has a relatively large pig herd. However, because there is no centralized slaughterhouse in the district, the control of slaughtering and stamping of quarantine cannot be implemented.

Mr. Tran Minh Quan - Acting Head of Quynh Luu District Veterinary Station

Currently, African swine fever is spreading rapidly in localities. If the origin of pork is not controlled, it will be the source of the disease spreading into the district. It is known that less than 1 month after Quynh Luu district announced the end of African swine fever, on May 16, the district continued to announce the appearance of African swine fever in Son Hai commune.

According to regulations, after a locality announces African swine fever, it is strictly forbidden to transport pigs and pig products in and out of epidemic areas or areas threatened by the epidemic. If pigs are slaughtered for meat sale, they must be supervised by veterinary staff, provided that the test results are negative for African swine fever. In addition, quarantine checkpoints have been established and forces are deployed 24/7 to control, spray disinfectants, and disinfect vehicles entering and leaving epidemic areas.