Nghe An: Why is African swine fever spreading so strongly?
Since the beginning of 2025, African swine fever has been breaking out violently again on a large scale in Nghe An, causing heavy losses to thousands of livestock households. What is worrying is that the epidemic is not only raging in traditional livestock farming areas but also spreading deep into mountainous, remote and isolated areas.
Widespread outbreak
For many days now, the loudspeaker system of Quan Thanh commune (formerly Yen Thanh district) has continuously broadcast information to the people about the epidemic situation, and at the same time, instructions on how to recognize disease symptoms in pig herds, the handling process when detecting dead pigs and measures to disinfect and sterilize barns. People are advised not to hide the epidemic, not to buy, sell, or transport sick or dead pigs. Quan Thanh commune has also established a Steering Committee for African swine fever prevention, headed by the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee.
The alarming figure is that from the end of April to July 31, Quan Thanh commune destroyed 677 pigs, weighing more than 52 tons in total. Up to 251 households in 23/29 hamlets were left "empty" in just a moment.
Ms. Dang Thi Dung - Chairman of Quan Thanh Commune People's Committee said: Currently, there are only 1,120 pigs left in the commune, facing a high risk of being threatened by the epidemic. The local government is implementing epidemic prevention solutions according to regulations, to protect the remaining pigs.
Not only in Quan Thanh commune, records of Nghe An Newspaper, Radio and Television show that since the beginning of the year, African swine fever has re-emerged strongly in neighboring communes.
Up to now, 9/9 communes of the old Yen Thanh district (including Yen Thanh, Giai Lac, Quan Thanh, Hop Minh, Van Tu, Van Du, Quang Dong, Binh Minh, Dong Thanh) have recorded the epidemic. Besides, many other localities: Dai Dong, Bich Hao, Kim Bang, Xuan Lam... (old Thanh Chuong district); Thuan Trung, Do Luong, Bach Ngoc... (old Do Luong district), Quang Chau, Tan Chau, An Chau... (old Dien Chau district); Anh Son, Anh Son Dong, Vinh Tuong... (old Anh Son district)... even mountainous localities such as: Mon Son commune, Con Cuong commune, Chau Binh commune, Que Phong commune... are also worried because of the widespread African swine fever.
Not only affecting the livestock industry, African swine fever has also pushed thousands of households into poverty. Many families have spent all their capital raising pigs for Tet or mid-year sales, but are now forced to destroy their entire livestock in just a few days.
The family of Mr. Pham Van Hien in Son Thuy hamlet, Hoa Quan commune (former Thanh Chuong district) is one of the typical examples. With a herd of more than 280 pigs and 15 sows, in early July alone, his family had to destroy 80 pigs and 7 sows. The barn was covered with white lime powder - a remnant of a recent epidemic.
"Because there are many epidemics in the commune, while the local government's epidemic control is not drastic, it leads to the virus spreading widely," said Mr. Pham Van Hien.
In Hoa Quan commune (former Thanh Chuong district), since the beginning of May, local authorities have been busy monitoring the destruction of infected pigs in hamlets. Accordingly, by July 31, the locality had destroyed 3,570 pigs, with a total weight of more than 202 tons.
According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Environment, by the end of July 2025, the whole province had to destroy nearly 13,000 pigs, equivalent to about 660 tons of live pigs. The epidemic appeared sporadically since the beginning of the year, but only really broke out strongly since the beginning of July until now, causing great damage to farmers, seriously threatening the food supply and epidemic safety in the area.
Finding the cause of the outbreak
Mr. Tran Vo Ba - Deputy Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine said: The main reason for the resurgence of the disease is the small-scale livestock farming system with lack of biosecurity.
Currently, the total pig herd in the province is more than 1 million, of which 65% are raised by small households. Barns are often built in residential areas, simple, poorly drained, without effective waste treatment or isolation systems. When pathogens appear, viruses easily spread through air, water, farming tools, insects, and even people.
At the same time, the rate of vaccinated pigs in the province is low. Data from the Department of Agriculture and Environment shows that from the beginning of 2025 until now, the whole province has only vaccinated about 3,300 doses - a very modest number compared to the total herd of over 1 million pigs.
In addition, the grassroots veterinary force is thin and weak. In many communes, there is only one veterinary officer, leading to delays in monitoring, checking, and detecting outbreaks.
In particular, people's awareness is still limited. Many households, when discovering sick pigs, do not report them but instead slaughter, sell or dump the dead pigs into rivers and streams, polluting the environment and spreading pathogens. These actions have been recorded in many communes. Some households even transport sick pigs to other communes for consumption.
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Second, the slow policy of supporting pig culling has made some households hesitant to declare. This has led some farmers to choose to hide the disease and sell off their pigs, further increasing the risk of spreading.
Objectively, the weather in the first months of the year has been erratic. The transitional period of rain and sunshine makes barns damp, reducing the resistance of livestock, creating ideal conditions for viruses to thrive.
However, according to reporters, epidemic prevention work in many localities is still not drastic. Many localities do not set up epidemic control checkpoints according to regulations, leading to traders transporting pigs in and out of epidemic areas without the control of authorities.
Mr. Le Van Ty - Vice Chairman of Hoa Quan Commune People's Committee said: The main reason is the difficulty in controlling the transportation and trading of pigs between epidemic areas and non-epidemic areas. Meanwhile, the erratic weather reduces the resistance of livestock, creating conditions for the virus to spread. In addition, some small-scale farmers do not apply biosecurity measures and continue to restock before the quarantine period... However, Mr. Ty also admitted that the epidemic control work of local authorities in the past has not been really drastic.
African swine fever is a major threat to Nghe An's livestock industry. Without the drastic intervention of the government, functional agencies and the consensus of the people, the risk of the epidemic being prolonged and recurring is entirely possible. Each livestock household needs to become a "fortress" in the fight against the epidemic. If management continues to be lax and irresponsible, the epidemic will not only continue to rage but will also rob thousands of farming families in the province of their livelihoods, assets and trust./.