Vinh city has the first outbreak of African swine fever

On the afternoon of June 5, the Vinh City People's Committee held a meeting to deploy urgent measures to prevent and control African swine fever in the area. Attending and directing was comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Delegates attending the meeting. Photo: Phu Huong

At the meeting, the leader of the Vinh City Economic Department said: Vinh City currently has 7,154 pigs, mainly raised on a small scale, interspersed among residents, and biosafety measures have hardly been applied. In particular, the large number of pigs slaughtered at home without veterinary quarantine is one of the risks that threaten the safety of livestock.

Worryingly, Vinh City is a place where many national and provincial roads pass through, where trading and commercial activities take place regularly; the slaughtering and transportation of pigs and pork products are still inadequate; coupled with unfavorable weather conditions, the risk of African swine fever occurring widely in the city in the near future is very high.

Comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu suggested that Vinh city should focus on implementing "5 no's" in disease prevention and control. Photo: Phu Huong

Speaking at the meeting, comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu stated: Nghe An livestock industry has never faced such difficulties due to epidemics as it does now. Thanks to the efforts of local authorities and people, the epidemic has not spread as quickly as in the northern provinces, but since the first outbreak on March 13, 2019, Nghe An now has 12 districts, cities and towns with the epidemic.

Based on the transmission mechanism of the epidemic, Vinh city needs to have a reasonable and effective prevention and control plan. In particular, it focuses on implementing the "5 no's" as recommended, immediately overcoming the situation of small-scale slaughter, at home, without quarantine by veterinary agencies; focusing on spraying disinfectants, sterilizing, and destroying pathogens in the environment; strengthening propaganda work for the whole population to prevent and control the epidemic.

Director of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Nghia Hieu

Veterinary staff of Nghi Phu commune spray disinfectant and sterilize livestock farms in the area. Photo: Phu Huong

Concluding the meeting, comrade Tran Van Son - Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee requested the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Station to quickly prepare all conditions to control livestock slaughterhouses.

The city will directly inspect and direct the work of disease prevention and control in wards and communes to have timely handling measures. The functional sectors have measures to coordinate, promote the consumption of products from clean pigs in the area; develop other livestock species to meet market demand as well as develop the people's economy at a time when African swine fever is complicated in the pig herd, considering the prevention and control of African swine fever as the task of the entire political system.

Graphics: Lam Tung