Farm in Nghe An “closed doors” due to fear of African swine fever
(Baonghean.vn) - With a total herd of over 38,000 pigs and 31 large and small pig farms, when receiving news that African swine fever had appeared in Nam Nghia commune, Nam Dan district focused on directing the locality to suppress the epidemic, along with requiring communes to raise the spirit of disease prevention at the highest level, especially in threatened areas and buffer zones.
Immediately after the commune's 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.
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| 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 pigs for meat. Before the epidemic broke out in the district, I consciously took care of my pigs by cleaning the barns regularly 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 of disinfectant chemicals 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 “locked and locked”, and farmers are on the farm 24/7 to closely monitor the pigs.
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| Disinfectant preparation at 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 pig herd in the locality. 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."
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| 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 - the 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 come in and out, they must also 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 epidemic 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 24/7.
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; regularly check pig herds and immediately report any unusual deaths or illnesses of pigs.
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