Farm in Nghe An “doors closed” for fear of African swine fever

Immediately after the commune loudspeaker announced that swine fever had appeared in Nam Nghia commune, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thuy in hamlet 5A, Nam Thanh commune (bordering Nam Nghia commune) made a plan to strictly protect his pig herd.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thuy in hamlet 5A, Nam Thanh commune increased the sprinkling of lime from the beginning of the alley to prevent the disease from spreading to his farm. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Thuy said: My family has 2 barns with over 100 pigs, including 20 sows and porkers. Before the epidemic broke out in the district, I consciously took care of my pigs by regularly cleaning the barns and not importing pigs from outside. Now that the epidemic has broken out, I have closed the barn and absolutely not allowed strangers to enter or exit; at the same time, I have increased the sprinkling of lime powder and spraying disinfectants every day.

As a locality adjacent to Nam Nghia commune, with a large pig herd, and located in an epidemic-threatened area, the authorities and people of Nam Thanh commune have put epidemic prevention as their top priority at this time. Most pig farms have been "closed", and farmers are on the farm 24/7 to closely monitor the pigs.

Disinfectant preparation at the Nam Nghia commune checkpoint to spray on vehicles passing through the epidemic area. Photo: Quang An

According to Mr. Tran Dang Khoa - Vice Chairman of Nam Thanh Commune People's Committee: The whole commune currently has 2,489 pigs, including 7 pig farms and 26 households; accounting for 60% of the total local pig herd. The commune has provided 40 liters of chemicals to 17 hamlets, focusing on spraying disinfectants on the commune's main roads and inner-hamlet roads. With the characteristic of having many households and farms, the commune will soon thoroughly educate farm owners and slaughterhouse workers in the area to raise awareness of disease prevention.

"In addition, in hamlets 7A, 2A, 4A, 5A adjacent to Nam Nghia commune, there has been an epidemic, so we have increased the supply of lime powder and chemicals to these hamlets; at the same time, we have assigned people to patrol regularly. If there is a situation of transporting and slaughtering pigs, it must be immediately reported to the authorities for handling."

Mr. Tran Dang Khoa - Vice Chairman of Nam Thanh Commune People's Committee, Nam Dan District

77 pigs destroyed in Nam Nghia (Nam Dan). Photo: Thuy Tinh

Nam Anh commune is also the locality with the largest pig herd in Nam Dan district with over 4,000 pigs. This number has decreased sharply compared to a few months ago because households did not re-herd during this "sensitive" time.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Duong in hamlet 3, Nam Anh commune - owner of the largest pig farm in the commune with 1,000 pigs added: "After watching the news and seeing that cholera had occurred in the district, I was quite worried, but I was also aware that strengthening epidemic prevention was an urgent task at this time. I strictly instructed the workers not to let strangers in, and if family members came in and out, they had to spray disinfectants. In addition, absolutely do not use food from hotels and restaurants, but only use industrial food, and stop all pig sales at this time."

Mr. Nguyen Dinh The - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nam Dan district said: The district has widely announced the epidemic to the localities and farmers. The district's consistent viewpoint is that the work of suppressing the epidemic and preventing the spread of the disease is an urgent task at this time. In Nam Nghia commune, 2 checkpoints have been established, each with 4 people divided into 2 shifts, morning and evening, closely monitoring the transportation of pigs in and out of the area 24/24 hours.

At the same time, communes in epidemic-threatened areas such as Nam Thanh, Nam Hung, Nam Thai, Van Dien and buffer zones such as Nam Anh, Nam Xuan, and Thi Tran must be on the highest alert level; regularly check pig herds and immediately report any unusual signs of sick or dead pigs.