Prevent disease outbreaks to restock livestock herds safely

Destroy pathogens, prevent disease outbreaks

After cleaning up meters of mud and rotten animal carcasses trapped after three rows of his barns were flooded, Ho Van Thang in An Quang village, Quang Kim commune (Bat Xat district) continued to spread lime powder for disinfection before herding the pigs back from the hill.

During the flood, his family only had wild vegetables to feed the pigs with. After that, it rained heavily for several days but all the breeding pigs and pigs for meat remained healthy, while nearly 20 newborn pigs died. After the flood receded, his family immediately cleaned up the barn because the river water carried pathogens, and rotting animal carcasses mixed with mud, so the risk of a disease outbreak was very high.

Faced with the farmers' losses and their eagerness to restock by the end of the year, veterinary staff regularly went down to monitor the local disease situation, distributed disinfectants and instructed people to spray disinfectant on large areas such as roofs, barn floors, manure pits, walls, and walkways before restocking.

Ho Van Thang’s household plans to raise 40 more pigs, increasing the herd size from 80 to 120 heads. After nearly 3 months, right at the end of the year, the farm will be able to supply the first batch of pigs to the market to minimize damage caused by the flood.

Provide disinfectant chemicals for farmers to restock in time

With his depth of experience, Nguyen Duy De in group 1, Bat Xat Town (Bat Xat District) quickly realizes that although the town area is not heavily flooded, high humidity creates a favorable environment for disease outbreaks. Poultry at this time are susceptible to intestinal diseases, diarrhea, etc.

"I am preparing nearly 1,000 poultry of all kinds to prepare for sale at the end of the year, ducks are 2 months old, chickens and geese are 3 months and 10 days old. The current difficulty is the limited supply of breeds. The price has increased by nearly VND 2,000 per head. Hens are VND 7,000/head, roosters are VND 15,000/head, and ducks are VND 13,000 - 15,000/head,” he said.

On the other part of Bat Xat district, Quang Kim commune and A Lu commune both suffered from severe floods and landslides, but the landslide area in A Lu commune can now be accessed by car. Ha Ngoc Linh, Vice Chairman of A Lu commune People's Committee, together with veterinary officer Phao Lao Lo, used a personal vehicle to transport 300 liters of chemicals for disinfection and sterilization, preparing for people to resume production.

According to Dao Van Tam, Head of Bat Xat District Veterinary Station, the district focuses on the livestock environment, areas with high risk of disease outbreaks, the public markets, and places where food is sold in the district. The station has distributed 20,000 liters of chemicals to communes and towns.

The disinfection work encounters some difficulties due to landslides, however, the roads are now cleared and the chemicals are immediately handed over to localities. The commune veterinary staff receives and deploys synchronous spraying sessions to each village. When the work is completed, livestock will be restocked and the people's livelihoods will be recovered.

Protect livestock with vaccines

Compared to many provinces and cities, Lao Cai’s livestock production and animal health sector has not suffered too much damage, but there have been social security impacts, affecting the lives of livestock farmers as well as market supply and demand. The Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health has directed nine veterinary stations in districts and cities to conduct inspections, inventories, assessments and organization of disinfection sessions.

Up to now, 152/152 communes and wards have carried out disinfection. The local livestock production sector has signed a cooperation agreement with the health sector to ensure the living environment of the people. As for the health sector, disinfection includes people, tools, equipment in the house, drinking water and household utensils while the livestock production sector focuses on areas related to livestock production and aquaculture activities of farmers.

“We are trying to prevent the disease from affecting the lives of people and the livestock industry. The difficulty in the near future is that Lao Cai province's plan only provides disinfectants for terrestrial animals, while it is not the same case when it comes to disinfectants for the aquatic environment. We have prepared a report to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to submit to Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee to purchase chemicals and distribute them in accordance with the law, supporting farmers to restore the aquaculture industry,” said Pham Ba Uyen, Head of Lao Cai Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health.