Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: African swine fever continues to develop unpredictably

PV:African swine fever (ASF) is evolving very complicatedly. What is the current situation in the province, sir?

Mr. Nguyen Van Lap:From the first outbreak detected at a farm in Quynh My commune, Quynh Luu on March 12, by May 19, African swine fever had appeared in 11 localities in Nghe An, including: Quynh Luu, Tan Ky, Nam Dan, Do Luong, Quy Hop, Quy Chau, Hoang Mai town, Thanh Chuong, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc and Hung Nguyen. The disease tends to spread to many communes and districts in the province.

On the afternoon of May 15, Son Hai commune set up quarantine checkpoints in village 3. Previously, Quynh Luu district announced the end of the epidemic when the outbreak in Quynh My and Quynh Hung communes was controlled at the end of April. Photo: Xuan Hoang

PV:According to him, what causes the epidemic to spread as it is now?y?

Mr. Nguyen Van Lap:First of all, due to the transportation of pigs and pig products infected with pathogens from outside the province to collection and trading points, then resold to households for small-scale slaughter. The first districts where the epidemic appeared were all located on National Highway 1A, adjacent to Thanh Hoa, a locality with the epidemic.

Nghe An's livestock industry is mainly small-scale, making it difficult to apply disease prevention and biosecurity measures. Most households have not fully complied with disease prevention procedures; the livestock environment, tools and vehicles have not been thoroughly disinfected; and leftover food is collected for feeding pigs without heat treatment. The slaughtering process has not been controlled, and it is still common for people to slaughter and sell pork without veterinary control, without slaughter control stamps...

Pork without veterinary quarantine stamps is sold in many markets in epidemic areas. Photo: Viet Hung

PV:So what do you think about the situation in the coming time?

Mr. Nguyen Van Lap:Nghe An is a large province, bordering many neighboring provinces and Laos, with many national highways, many trails and openings; trading activities of animals and animal products are frequent.

Meanwhile, small-scale farming, high density farming, interspersed in residential areas; households often use uncooked leftover food from restaurants and hotels to feed pigs. These are all risks that cause disease to occur and spread.

Recently, the epidemic has occurred sporadically in households and small-scale farms, and the epidemic has a tendency to "jump", spreading to many districts in the province. The epidemic's development is very unpredictable, not following any certain rules.

Transporting pigs of unknown origin is one of the causes of the spread of the disease. Photo: Quang An

Currently, the weather is unfavorable, with rain, humidity, and hot sun creating favorable conditions for pathogens to arise and develop. Therefore, the risk of widespread DTLCP is very high.

Meanwhile, there are many difficulties in epidemic prevention. Some localities have not yet allocated funds or have allocated very little for epidemic prevention and control such as Tan Ky, Do Luong, Hoang Mai, Tuong Duong...

Many livestock farmers are still negligent and subjective, not proactive in disease prevention and control, and not interested in applying biosafety measures. The management of pig collection, pig bathing, and slaughtering points in the area is still limited. The situation of small-scale slaughtering at locations that do not ensure veterinary hygiene and food safety, and the sale of pork and pork products on the sidewalks and street vendors without slaughter control marks is still common.

Some breeders and traders are not fully aware of the dangerous nature of the disease. For immediate benefits, they do not declare when there is an epidemic, call traders to sell and transport, and risk spreading the disease.

PV:So, what positive solutions do all levels and sectors need to have to limit the spread of DTLCP in the current period, sir?

Mr. Nguyen Van Lap:At the provincial level, it is necessary to maintain the operation of quarantine stations/checkpoints and interdisciplinary working groups to inspect, control and strictly handle violations; effectively carry out quarantine of animals and animal products entering and leaving the province. Strengthen propaganda and guidance for livestock farms to build disease-safe facilities and livestock areas.

Districts will base on the epidemic situation, livestock situation, and risk of disease spreading into the area to consider establishing interdisciplinary teams and temporary quarantine checkpoints. Direct specialized agencies to coordinate with communes to organize monitoring, early detection, reporting, and timely handling of animal disease outbreaks.

In case of pigs dying of unknown causes or pigs suspected of having ASF symptoms, samples must be taken promptly for testing. Strict biosafety must be ensured in sampling, destruction, and disease prevention to avoid spreading the disease.

Localities need to seriously and synchronously implement measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic. Photo: Quang An

At the same time, establish an interdisciplinary inspection team to control the transportation, slaughter, and trading of pigs and pig products, pig collection and bathing points... in the area. Strictly handle cases of trading pork and pig products on sidewalks and street vendors; trading meat products without slaughter control marks; small-scale slaughtering at locations that do not meet veterinary hygiene and food safety conditions, and do not have veterinary staff to control slaughtering.

Localities guide the grassroots on measures to collect, treat waste, and spray disinfectants. Communes must review and count the total pig herd, grasp the list of farms, ranches and households in the area; guide farmers to apply biosafety measures in livestock farming, hygiene, disinfection with lime powder and chemicals, as well as propagate people not to buy and sell pigs and pig products of unclear origin, not yet quarantined to limit the occurrence and spread of diseases.

Districts with epidemics must mobilize the entire political system; proactively allocate funds from local epidemic prevention and control reserves, and ensure resources to synchronously deploy solutions to prevent and control the epidemic.

PV:Thank you!

Map of epidemic areas in Nghe An as of May 20, 2019. Graphics: Lam Tung