Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the working session.

The Government leader made the request at a working session in Hanoi’s outskirts district of Dong Anh on May 19 with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the People’s Committees of Hanoi and Dong Anh district and local pig breeders.

The meeting took place after PM Phuc visited a pig farm in Tien Duong commune, Dong Anh district – one of the localities in Hanoi reporting the biggest number of culled pigs due to the disease.

The PM underlined the responsibility of heads of concerned agencies in the combat and asked the agencies and localities to double efforts in ASF prevention and control.

The veterinary sector needs to monitor and support pig farms that are free from the virus in pork consumption, he said, adding that localities should update agencies and people on developments of the disease.

The virus has hit pig farms in all 24 districts in Hanoi, killing ten percent of local pigs. In Dong Anh district alone, 629 heads, or one fifth of the total pig flock were infected.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung reported that apart from Dong Anh, Soc Son and Phu Xuyen districts have been hard hit by the virus, which is showing signs of spreading.

MARD Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said about 1.5 million pigs or 5 percent of the country’s pig herds nationwide have been culled since the first case of AWF was detected in the northern province of Hung Yen on February 1 this year.

Without stronger preventive measures, the virus may spread in all localities, he warned.-VNA