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| Health workers in the northern mountainous province of Sơn La weigh an infected pig before destroying the animal in an attempt to control African swine fever in the locality. VNA/VNS Photo Diệp Anh |
HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội has culled more than 387,500 pigs infected with African swine fever (ASF), or 20.7 per cent of the city’s total herd.
According to the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Department, ASF has affected an additional 1,839 livestock households in four communes, forcing local authorities to kill over 33,700 pigs between June 10 and 16.
To date, the disease has hit 23,125 households in the city, accounting for 28.6 per cent of all pig raisers, in 2,150 villages in 439 communes, wards and towns of 24 districts.
Large numbers of pigs were culled in the districts of Sóc Sơn (65,983 pigs), Đông Anh (38,894), Quốc Oai (28,503) and Chương Mỹ (26,337).
In another development, the central province of Phú Yên on Monday reported its first outbreak of African swine fever in Sông Hinh District, making it the 58th locality in Việt Nam affected by the virus.
This latest outbreak leaves only five provinces nationwide that have not been hit by the virus. They are Bến Tre, Lâm Đồng, Ninh Thuận, Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu and Tây Ninh.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, more than 2.6 million pigs have been culled nationwide in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.
As of June 11, African swine fever had occurred in 55 of the country’s 63 cities and provinces, including all the major cities.
The total population of pigs in Việt Nam this month was down 5.5 per cent from the same period last year. Pork production in the first half of this year was about two million tonnes, 5 per cent lower than in the first half of last year.
As soon as African swine fever was reported in China on August 23 last year, Việt Nam took preventative measures along the border; however, the first outbreak was detected in the northern province of Hưng Yên in early February.
African swine fever does not spread to humans or poultry, but it can kill pigs quickly and there is no vaccine available. — VNS
