First 2 African swine fever outbreaks detected in Vietnam
In Vietnam, two outbreaks of African swine fever have been detected in Hung Yen and Thai Binh provinces - Mr. Pham Van Dong, Director of the Department of Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development confirmed this information at a press conference on the afternoon of February 19.
Specifically, in Hung Yen province, African swine fever (ASF) was detected in the household of Mr. Duong Van Vu (Trung Nghia, Hung Yen city) and Mr. Le Xuan Tinh (Yen Hoa, Yen My). Meanwhile, in Thai Binh, some households in Dong Do commune (Hung Ha) were found to have ASF. The total number of pigs found to be infected with the disease was 257.
According to the Department of Animal Health, immediately after receiving the information, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development directed central and local specialized agencies and local authorities at all levels to immediately take measures to destroy all pigs of the households.
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At a recent press conference, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development officially announced that outbreaks of African swine fever have been detected in Vietnam and indicated temporary ways to respond to the disease. |
In addition, the authorities also conducted general cleaning and continuous spraying of disinfectants in the epidemic areas, the entrances and exits of the epidemic areas and high-risk areas; established quarantine checkpoints, strictly managed the transportation, slaughtering and consumption of pork products in the epidemic areas;
At the same time, a general review of the situation of pig herds in the commune and other localities was conducted; samples were taken for testing from pig farms around the affected households and the results were negative.
The Department of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) also informed that from 2017 to February 18, 2019, 20 countries reported African swine fever. In total, more than 1.08 million pigs were forced to be destroyed.
Notably, in China, according to information from OIE and FAO, from August 3, 2018 to February 18, 2019, the country announced a total of 105 outbreaks of African swine fever in 25 provinces. In total, more than 950 thousand pigs of all kinds were forced to be destroyed.
In addition, according to some sources, the possibility of African swine fever has appeared in some countries in the region but has not been officially reported. Thus, the risk of the disease spreading widely in countries in the region is very high.
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The main source of transmission is the transport of contaminated pork products. The virus itself spreads very slowly in infected pigs, but African swine fever has a 100% mortality rate. |
Previously, Mr. Ken Inui - FAO swine disease expert, said that this disease is not contagious and does not cause disease in humans. The pathogen will not only destroy the pig herd, but we ourselves must destroy the infected pig herd. When African swine fever is transmitted to a farm, it is very difficult to recognize the infected pigs, because the infected pigs will gradually die, not all of them.
According to Mr. Ken Inui, African swine fever appeared in 1921 in Africa, and in 1957 spread to Europe and America. Fortunately, some countries have eradicated this disease, however, for example, Spain took 30 years and the most important measure was to destroy the pig herd.
The spread is mainly due to the transport of contaminated pork products. The virus itself spreads very slowly in infected pigs, but pigs infected with African swine fever have a 100% mortality rate. Notably, after nearly a century of discovery, there is still no vaccine to prevent African swine fever, he said.