HCM City (VNA) - Stricter preventativemeasures are needed to combat the spread of African swine fever (ASF) in southernprovinces and cities, especially in the Mekong Delta, which is highlysusceptible to the disease, experts said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City atthe weekend.

Since the first outbreak in northern Hung Yen provincein February, ASF has been detected in 2,904 communes in 42 provinces, with 1.7million pigs culled – over 5 percent of the country’s pigs.

After ASF was spotted in China in August, theVietnamese government began providing instructions on disease prevention,according to Bach Duc Luu, Deputy Director of the Animal Health Departmentunder the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

He said the disease had appeared in small townsin the country. About 80 previously affected communes in 22 provinces havenow gone 30 days without another outbreak.

Large-scale pig farming areas owned bybusinesses are taking bio-security steps to protect their pigs, and around 740farming facilities have been certified as safe from the disease.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development NguyenXuan Cuong said that frequent transportation and traffic, the abundance ofcanals and high temperatures made the Southern region highly susceptibleto ASF, as there are more avenues for the disease to spread and transportis more difficult to manage.

Luu said ASF was first discovered in the southin the province of Hau Giang in April. The disease has now spread to eightsouthern provinces, and 4,840 pigs have been culled, which is 0.08 percent ofall pigs in the region, he said.

Southern Vietnam has nearly 6.5 million pigs, or23 percent of the country’s total. There are 3,514 pig farms, only 459 of whichare considered safe from the disease. Many clustered individual households withpig farms are located near accommodations, making it more difficult to preventthe spread.

Many farmers in the south are still not fullyaware of the dangers of ASF and have not applied bio-security measures.

Some farmers have tried to treat the diseasethemselves or have discarded pig carcasses in the river or garbage dumps, andhave withheld information from local authorities or failed to co-operate.

Some officials, especially at the commune level,are not taking proactive measures to inspect areas and deal with outbreaks.

In addition, pig slaughtering has not beenmanaged well. Several units are gathering and harvesting pork from pigs withunclear origins to sell to restaurants.

Disinfection has also not been done asfrequently or thoroughly as instructed, and some areas lack the requiredchemicals.

Pig culling has not always been carried outsafely as staff are not adequately trained and they lack proper equipment andchemicals. The burial sites are also problematic because much of the southis very low, allowing water so seep in and spread the disease.

Financial support for affected households is notenough, so some families try to hide the presence of the disease fromlocal authorities to avoid having the rest of their pigs culled, according tothe Bạc Liêu Province People’s Committee.

Luu said different departments throughout thesouth need to strictly monitor ASF and pig transportation activities anddisinfect more farms.

Authorities should also develop better pigculling teams, offer support to farmers whose pigs have to be culled andbuild more facilities that are protected from ASF, he said.

There is no cure or preventive medicine for ASF,and ensuring bio-security is the best way to prevent ASF or slow its spread, saidMinister Cuong, adding that households and businesses also need to activelytake part in tackling ASF.

Farmers with culled pigs should wait until theyreceive notice from authorities to begin farming pigs again. Affected farmershave been receiving help so they can farm other animals.-VNA