Urgent response to African swine fever outbreak.

Given the complex situation of African swine fever in some localities, the Department of Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has sent a document to the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development of Lang Son and Bac Kan provinces regarding strengthening the prevention and control of African swine fever.

To proactively and effectively control African swine fever, prevent its widespread spread, and minimize losses, the Department of Animal Health requests the Directors of the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development of Lang Son and Bac Kan provinces to focus resources and urgently direct local veterinary management agencies and relevant units to rectify animal disease prevention and control work in accordance with regulations.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development advises competent authorities to declare an epidemic and organize epidemic control in accordance with regulations; and requests accountability reviews for relevant collectives and individuals who failed to promptly advise, direct, and implement epidemic control in accordance with regulations.

Local authorities are focusing resources to promptly support and allocate funds to commune-level governments to decisively handle outbreaks and prevent new ones from emerging. Simultaneously, they are organizing the disposal of sick, suspected sick, and dead pigs; conducting thorough sanitation, spraying disinfectants (using lime powder, chemicals, etc.); and promptly detecting, preventing, and strictly handling cases of selling, trading, and transporting sick or suspected sick pigs, or discarding dead pigs into the environment, thereby spreading disease and polluting the environment, in accordance with regulations.

The Department instructs livestock farmers, especially in areas experiencing outbreaks and high-risk areas, to strictly apply daily hygiene and disinfection measures using lime powder and chemicals in livestock pens and surrounding areas. Farmers must ensure that livestock owners and facilities with pigs that must be culled due to disease fully carry out disinfection, hygiene, and decontamination to eliminate pathogens and prevent the spread of the disease.

The Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development are reviewing and requiring all forces involved in disease control to strictly apply personal protective equipment, hygiene, disinfection, and sterilization measures to prevent the spread of disease during the handling, transportation, and disposal of infected pigs; and to take measures to prevent burial pits of infected pigs from creating a risk of spreading the disease to the surrounding environment.

Local authorities are intensifying information and widespread communication through various means about the dangerous nature of African swine fever, the risk of disease recurrence and spread, disease prevention measures, and the use of vaccines.

According to the Department of Animal Health, there are currently 196 outbreaks in 59 districts of 18 provinces and cities nationwide that have not yet passed the 21-day quarantine period. The number of infected pigs is 10,544, and the number of pigs that have died or been culled is 10,612.

In Lang Son province alone, 55 outbreaks of African swine fever have occurred in 53 communes across 10 out of 11 districts and cities, resulting in 2,374 pigs being infected and culled (accounting for more than 13.7% of the total number of pigs culled due to African swine fever nationwide since the beginning of the year).

In Bac Kan province, 81 outbreaks of African swine fever have occurred in 77 communes across 8 districts, affecting 4,724 pigs that were subsequently culled (accounting for over 54% of the total number of pigs culled).

Besides the two aforementioned localities, several other provinces and cities also have a large number of pigs infected with the disease and subsequently culled, such as Quang Ninh, Hoa Binh, and Long An…

The Department of Animal Health announced that it has established working groups to inspect and supervise the prevention and control of African swine fever. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will also organize a conference to disseminate and implement measures to prevent and control African swine fever.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/khan-truong-ung-pho-voi-dich-ta-lon-chau-phi-post385180.html