Mekong Delta localities steps up efforts to prevent ASF
Provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta have tightened control over the transport of livestock and stepped up prevention efforts against the growing epidemic of African swine fever among pigs.
HCM City (VNA) – Provinces and citiesin the Mekong Delta have tightened control over the transport of livestock andstepped up prevention efforts against the growing epidemic of Africanswine fever among pigs.
The People’s Committee of Dong Thap province hasprohibited the transport, trade, consumption, slaughter, or gift of smuggledand unknown meat.
When pigs infected with African swine fever arediscovered, related authorities must be informed immediately, Nguyen Van Cong,Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Since early 2019, Dong Thap province has notfaced any animal epidemic, but has spent 6.7 billion VND (around 290,000 USD)preparing for epidemics, he said.
In neighbouring An Giang province, the Departmentof Agriculture and Rural Development has stepped up oversight of pig farms andincreased hygiene requirements for them.
Local authorities have also set up check pointsto control pig transport, slaughter, trade, and consumption.
In border regions, surveillance has been steppedup to prevent meat smuggling. The responsibility of each agency in case of anepidemic has been spelled out.
In Tien Giang province, hundreds of veterinarystaff have been dispatched to prevent the epidemic.
The public are kept abreast of the situation andtaught how to prevent the spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, Can Tho city has increasedsurveillance of pork trade and pig farms.-VNA
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) have sent a delegation of experts to Vietnam to assess the situation of African swine fever (ASF) in the country.
The northern mountainous province of Lai Chau announced its first African swine fever (ASF) outbreak on March 19, raising the total number of disease-hit localities nationwide to 20.
The Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development affirmed (MARD) on March 20 that the information carried by some foreign news agencies with the content “FAO recommends Vietnam to declare African swine fever (ASF) as a state of national emergency” is inaccurate.
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Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
