Mekong Delta region steps up efforts to combat African swine fever

Aside from Ben Tre province, other provinces in the region have reported the ASF epidemic while other localities still encountered difficulties in dealing with the outbreaks.

Provinces have been forced to cull all infected pigs as well as tightening control over the trading and transportation of pigs and pork products in their area.

Hau Giang province has recorded some 200 cases of ASF outbreaks in all of their districts and towns with more than 6,000 infected pigs being culled. Chau Thanh district has been the hardest hit by the epidemic with nearly 100 outbreaks while some 2,100 infected pigs in the area have been forced to be culled.

According to Tong Hoang Khoi, Chairman of the Chau Thanh district People’s Committee, the locality has faced difficulties in finding appropriate locations to bury the pigs due to a shortage of land.

Truong Ngoc Trung, head of Hau Giang province’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary sub-department said one of the major difficulties faced by Hau Giang province is in regard to regulations on the slaughter and consumption of pigs in infected areas.

Currently, the province has 20 slaughter establishments of cattle operating on a small scale, leading to difficulties in management work.

Hau Giang is one of the localities in the Mekong Delta region which has suffered great losses from the ASF epidemic.

The spreading and complicated developments of the ASF is attributable to small-scale breeding activities of residents.

Currently, only 12 per cent of the total pig flocks in the province have been raised under bio-safety measures, causing difficulties when enacting preventive measures.

In order to cope with the situation, provinces and towns in the region are required to strictly monitor outbreaks according to bio-safety measures and then enforce proper preventive measures to limit the further spread of ASF into major breeding facilities.