Why is African swine fever spreading so rapidly in mountainous districts?

Differences between regions

According to a report from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine of Nghe An province, as of the end of October 2024, there were over 60 active African swine fever outbreaks in 16 districts, cities, and towns across the province that had not yet passed the 21-day quarantine period. Over 4,000 pigs have been culled, totaling over 210 tons. The disease is still developing in a complex manner, especially after the recent floods. Cumulatively from the beginning of the year to date, the province has culled over 7,600 pigs, totaling nearly 400 tons.

Notably, the data shows that during this outbreak (from August to October 2024), there was a clear difference in the number of infected pigs and the total weight of pigs culled between mountainous and lowland districts.

Specifically, Anh Son district currently has the most complex outbreak situation in the province with 12 outbreaks, resulting in the culling of over 1,700 pigs weighing more than 94 tons. Next is Tuong Duong district, which, despite having only 4 outbreaks in 4 communes, had to cull over 1,000 pigs weighing more than 46 tons. Quy Hop and Que Phong districts have a total of 7 outbreaks, with over 800 pigs culled, totaling over 30 tons. In addition, outbreaks have also occurred in districts such as Ky Son, Quy Chau, and Tan Ky… With such a large number of pigs culled, this represents a significant loss for the people in the mountainous regions.

Conversely, in the lowland districts, African swine fever has shown signs of slowing down, with some localities successfully preventing the spread of the disease. Specifically, in Yen Thanh district, despite 10 outbreaks, only 180 pigs were culled, weighing 11 tons. In Dien Chau district, there were 3 outbreaks, resulting in the culling of 24 pigs weighing 400 kg. Quynh Luu, Nghi Loc, Nam Dan districts and Vinh City had a total of 5 outbreaks, with 25 pigs culled and a total weight of over 3 tons of culled pigs across all four localities. These figures clearly demonstrate the disparity in the complexity of African swine fever outbreaks between mountainous and lowland districts.

Shortcomings in epidemic prevention and control in mountainous areas.

Yen Na commune is one of the localities with a complex outbreak of African swine fever in Tuong Duong district. The outbreak first appeared at the end of August 2024 at the household of Mr. Luong Van Dau in Xieng Nua village, with 7 pigs infected. By the end of October 2024, the disease had spread to 86 households in the two villages of Xieng Nua and Na Bon, resulting in the death and destruction of 279 pigs, with a total weight of over 17 tons, estimated losses of approximately 1 billion VND.

Mr. Vi Thanh Tung, Chairman of the People's Committee of Yen Na commune, said: "The people here depend on livestock farming for their livelihood. Therefore, when pigs are infected with disease and die in large numbers, it causes heavy losses. Preventing the spread of the disease is a top priority for the commune. Currently, the locality has established three disease control checkpoints, conducting inspections, isolation, and containment of infected livestock. Diseased and dead livestock are being destroyed according to regulations. In addition, disinfection and sterilization of the livestock environment are being carried out to limit the spread of the disease."

“However, in reality, disease prevention and control still faces many difficulties. Some people here are still unaware of the dangers of the disease, so they remain complacent and negligent in prevention efforts. They haven't properly implemented disease prevention measures such as spreading lime powder and spraying disinfectants in livestock environments. The village committees in some hamlets haven't been truly proactive. The area is vast, with many households raising livestock and a large total herd size, while the workforce involved in disease prevention and control is thin, mostly juggling multiple tasks, so the implementation of disease prevention and control measures is limited and not timely…”, Mr. Vi Thanh Tung said.

Given the complex developments of African swine fever, especially in districts such as Tuong Duong and Anh Son, in mid-October 2024, a working group from the Provincial Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine directly worked with Tuong Duong district to assess the situation in the affected communes, including Nga My, Yen Na, and Luu Kien.

Through on-site inspections of households and villages affected by the outbreak, the Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine has identified the causes of the spread and difficulty in controlling African swine fever in these localities.

Specifically, although the livestock farming here is small-scale, it is very dense, with pens built close together and running along streams; wastewater and waste from the farming process are discharged directly into the environment. The authorities in some communes are still complacent in disease prevention and control; they have not reviewed and managed the livestock herds effectively. The disposal of dead and diseased pigs does not meet technical requirements; in some places, households are left to dispose of them themselves, leading to the spread of disease.

Sanitation, disinfection, and sterilization work in affected households and areas has not been thorough. Livestock farmers have not properly implemented the "six no's" in disease prevention and control. There are still instances of concealing outbreaks, selling and slaughtering sick pigs, discarding carcasses into the environment; using leftover, uncooked food to feed pigs; using stream water to bathe and give to pigs to drink...

Furthermore, African swine fever is currently a dangerous infectious disease for which there is no specific treatment, and vaccines are not widely available for vaccinating pigs of all types (only vaccines for fattening pigs are available). The cost of the vaccine is also high (over 65,000 VND per dose). This price makes it very difficult for people in mountainous areas to access, especially those with large herds who would have to spend millions of VND on vaccination.

Mr. Tran Vo Ba, Deputy Head of the Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine, said: Currently, the weather is unpredictable, with rain and humidity creating conditions for pathogens to emerge, develop, and spread rapidly. Therefore, localities, especially mountainous districts, need to strictly implement disease prevention and control measures to minimize the current spread.

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Local authorities need to strengthen monitoring, early detection, and timely reporting and handling of newly emerging outbreaks, and absolutely must not be complacent or negligent in disease prevention and control. Strictly implement the pig culling process to ensure biosafety and prevent the spread of pathogens into the environment; prioritize culling immediately in the gardens of households/farms with infected pigs, or in affected villages if suitable burial sites are available. Educate the public on the "six no's" in disease prevention and control. Implement good sanitation, disinfection, and sterilization practices; control the slaughter and transportation of pigs into and out of affected areas...

Mr. Tran Vo Ba - Deputy Head of the Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine