Northern province Thai Nguyen on alert for possible outbreak of African swine fever

Dead pigs with the same symptoms have appeared in localities in Pho Yen Town in the northern province of Thai Nguyen before the African swine fever (ASF) was discovered recently.

Disease recurrence

On November 3, Agricultural Service Centre, Pho Yen Business Sector and the communes’ People’s Committees have co-worked to investigate and verify the number of dead pigs in households in three communes of Minh Duc, Nam Tien and Dong Cao.

The investigation shows that the dead sick pigs suspected  to be infected with ASF. They had symptoms of ASF such as high fever, decreased appetite and weakness, diarrhea and vomiting, coughing and difficulty breathing.

Tests performed by National Centre for Veterinary Diagnosis indicated that five samples were found positive for ASF, two cases in Dong Cao Commune, two cases in Nam Tien Commune and one in Minh Duc Commune.

According to the recent report by Pho Yen Commune People’s Committee, since November 3, ASF has appeared in 43 households in the three communes with the number of pig culled is 140 (6,386kg).

High risk of ASF outbreak

Ta Van Kien in Tan Thanh Village, Dong Cao Commune said that he has had to cull 10 pigs by November 11. His family is breeding 20 pigs weighing at 30kg – 40 kg with a view to sell them at the ending of the year festive season, especially Tết (the Lunar New Year).

“They are still well in the morning but die in the afternoon,” Kien said. He has to hire excavator for dead pig burying.

Noteworthy, ASF is mainly returning to the location where it has been since 2019. Last year, Ta Van Huan in Thanh Village, Dong Cao Commune culled his herd of pig suffering from ASF equal to over two tonnes. This year, ASF has killed two pigs from his herd.

These communes of Dong Cao, Minh Tien and Minh Duc are the key areas of animal breeding in the town.

“Dong Cao Commune is one of the communes having a large number of pig herd and the number of household is 500,” said Vu Van Manh, Dong Cao Commune’s deputy-chairman of the People’s Committee.

The statistics are only updated for reporting to authority since ASF found recently, according to Manh. Factually, dead pigs with ASF symptoms have been found in many other communes in the town since October 27.

Seventeen households in seven villages in Dong Cao Commune have culled pig herd weighing of two tonnes from October 27 to November 9. About 152 households in 11 communes in the town forced to cull dead sick pig weighing a total of nearly 22 tonnes.

Last year, ASF disease caused nearly 3,000 pigs weighing a total of nearly 166 tonnes in the commune.

According to the local Steering Committee for Animal Disease Prevention, ASF spreads quickly in a complicated and the risk of transmission of ASF is high. Notably, scattered dead pigs and ASF outbreaks are reported at this time in other localities outside Pho Yen town.

ASF outbreaks were discovered in Phu Dinh Commune, Dinh Hoa District on October 16. Total dead sick pigs culled were 50 weighing at 1.2 tonnes. The most recently, ASF outbreak was found in a household in Binh Son Commune on November 8. Some of 63 pigs were culled weighing at two tonnes.

ASF virus is still developing in a complex manner, according to Le Dac Vinh, head of Thai Nguyen Department of Veterinary. Plus, the complicated weather development, small-sized farms and the virus’s characteristics pose a high risk of spreading the virus to other localities and to bigger farms.

At the end of the year, the trading and transportation of breeds and food increase posing a high risk of ASF outbreak.

ASF was found in Thai Nguyen Province in 3 March, 2019 causing outbreaks in the communes. Over 150,000 pigs weighing at 9,200 tonnes were culled.

About VND330 billion from the State and the province have been poured in ASF prevention and control. Of which, affected households have been aided nearly VNĐ266 billion.