Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Blue-ear disease spreads in northern, central regions

8:00 AM, 05/05/2010
Blue-ear pig disease has spread to Hanoi and 10 northern and central provinces with more than 50,000 pigs infected by the virus, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said on May 4.

The infected provinces include Hai Duong, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Hung Yen, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Ha Nam, Lang Son and most recently, Nghe An.

Hoang Van Nam, director of the ministry’s Animal Health Department said that the localities have continued to discover infected pigs, especially in the cities and provinces of Thai Binh, Hai Phong, Ha Nam, Lang Son and Nghe An.

Nam said the epidemic is still at high risk of spreading to other northern and central areas because the quarantine stations set up in localities have proved ineffective.

Those provinces remaining unaffected by the blue-ear pig virus have already established quarantine stations.

Nam further said heads of provincial-level animal health units will have to take responsibility and be open to disciplinary action if infected pigs get through the quarantine stations.

Pham Thanh Binh, head of the Animal Health Unit in central Ha Tinh province, reported that nearly 100 infected pigs had been seized at the province’s quarantine stations while being transported between Bac Giang and Ha Tinh provinces.

The central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thua Thien-Hue are currently focused on checking pigs transported in their areas, he said.

Minister Cao Duc Phat asked the provinces to take drastic preventative measures and entrusted the specific tasks to the relevant authorities at a grassroots level to help people incinerate infected pigs and decontaminate surrounding areas.

With more than 2,000 pigs affected by the blue-ear virus, Hanoi’s Animal Health Unit started their contamination activities to prevent the spread of the disease, as well as establishing mobile inspection teams at quarantine stations and pig farms.

The ministry on May 4 also announced that the two central provinces of Quang Tri and Quang Ngai were still suffering from cases of bird flu in which more than 5,000 poultry had been incinerated.

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