Provinces in the Mekong delta have adopted various measures against African Swine Fever (ASF) these days because of complicated development of the disease.

Being one of provinces with largest hog herd in the Mekong delta, Tien Giang authorities have got their teeth into battling the disease. The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development yesterday said that People’s Committee in Tien Giang has issued urgent dispatch on implementation of measures against ASF.

According to the dispatch, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, related agencies and local administrations were asked to prepare disinfectants for the Disinfection month in the province to prevent disease entry and spread.

Moreover, these agencies ought to increase information of the possibility of the disease and instruct inhabitants how to prevent the disease on animals as well as tighten control over transportation, slaughter and trading of animal products in the jurisdiction to guarantee provision of safe food to residents.

Quarantine stations have been set up in in the highway and paths bordering with neighboring provinces.

District people committees requested to enhance supervision to family farms for early discovery to handle cases of ASF-infected animals.

Harsh penalties will be imposed on breeders who didn’t report the disease or sell of their animal as well as violators who slaughter, sell and transport unchecked animals.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture and Rural Development in Kien Giang said 340,000 hogs are being raised in the province plus around 5,000 pigs are bought from other places into the province. Kien Giang Province has long border line and islands; therefore, authorities are alert to ASF prevention.

It has set up five mobile quarantine teams and two quick response teams to keep an eye on epidemic prevention in districts. Besides, forces are dispatched to work relentlessly in quarantine station, border crossings and spray disinfectants on vehicles.

An Giang authorities followed suit.

HCM City put on alert over ASF outbreak

Departments and agencies in HCMC’s districts have to take tough measures to prevent African swine fever (ASF) that has spread quickly in the northern provinces, municipal vice chairman Le Thanh Liem told a meeting held on March 12 in the city.

A woman inspects pork in a supermarket in this file photo. The authorities of districts in HCMC have been asked to take strong measures to prevent African swine fever from breaking out 

Addressing the meeting on the prevention of the disease in the city, Liem stressed that the chairpersons of districts, if hit by the disease, must accept responsibility before the municipal government.

Besides this, all districts must closely monitor farming households who feed their pigs with leftover food, strictly tackle slaughterhouses with ill pigs, and intensively inspect the origin of pigs, said Liem.

Liem added that the authorities must inspect pigs being transported to the city, while ensuring the inspections will not cause traffic congestion.

Nguyen Phuoc Trung, director of the HCMC Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that there are nearly 4,000 farming households with over 270,000 pigs in the city. Of these, 247 farming households use leftovers from restaurants and food stores to feed their pigs. This poses a high risk of ASF outbreaks.

Also, around 7,000 pigs are slaughtered daily at 11 active slaughterhouses in the city that meets a mere 20% of demand from local residents. The city has to import more pigs from neighboring provinces, such as Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. If these provinces are hit by ASF, the city would be affected as a result.

All districts have taken steps to prevent the disease from breaking out in the city, including asking farming households to cook leftover food before feeding pigs, said Trung. From February 25 to date, slaughterhouses have refused pig supply from the northern provinces to minimize the spread of ASF.

To date, no ASF outbreaks have been reported in the city, said Pham Khanh Phong Lan, head of the HCMC Food Safety Management Board. However, the board had discovered tons of pigs transported to the city for consumption from other provinces that showed signs of the foot-and-mouth disease, with most of them coming from Dong Nai Province.

Regarding food storage in case of ASF outbreaks, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade worked with the main meat suppliers, including Vissan, CP Vietnam Livestock JSC and Saigon Agriculture Corporation, to come up with a plan to stock up on pork, said Nguyen Huynh Trang, deputy director of the department.

CP Vietnam Livestock Company has put 3,600 tons of pork into cold storage, while poultry egg and meat producers such as Ba Huan and San Ha have stockpiled chicken to replace pork.

Also, the Industry and Trade Department has begun to inspect pork products at more than 300 traditional markets and 250 temporary markets in the city, Trang added.

As of March 12, ASF outbreaks have been reported in 37 districts of 13 cities and provinces in the north, with over 14,000 pigs being culled, including Hung Yen, Thai Binh and Hai Phong, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.

Till date, there are no vaccines against ASF, and 100% of infected pigs could die of the disease. Thus, Deputy Minister Tien advised local farmers not to hide outbreaks; not to sell and transport infected or dead pigs; not to slaughter, consume or discard sick pigs; and not to use uncooked leftovers to feed pigs.

HCM city detects infection of A/H5N6 avian flu virus in 900 ducks

The sub-department of animal husbandry and veterinary medicine in Ho Chi Minh city has detected the A/H5N6 bird flu virus in 900 infected ducks .

According to initial reports, an interdisciplinary inspection team discovered a suspicious car which was carrying 900 ducks through the Phu My Bridge toll booth.

Upon stopping the car and conducting a search the driver was unable to show the quarantine certificate for the shipment.

The team investigated the case further, eventually discovering that all 900 ducks were infected with the A/H5N6 bird flu virus.

The driver, identified as Vo Thanh Tam, admitted to carrying the shipment from Dong Nai province to Phu Quoc district.

He added that there was also another car carrying ducks, which had already arrived at the destination.