Tay Ninh join hands with Cambodian province in ASF combat

Tay Ninh (VNA) – The southeastern province of Tay Ninh will cooperate with Cambodia’s Svay Rieng province in the fight against African swine fever (ASF).

The consensus was reached at a recent working session between representatives of Tay Ninh’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Svay Rieng.

Accordingly, the two provinces will exchange information about the disease in order to promptly take countermeasures.

Nguyen Thanh Thuc, deputy head of Tay Ninh province’s Sub-department of Husbandry and Animal Health, said ASF has been recorded in the Cambodian border provinces of Svay Rieng and Tbong Khmum.

He pointed out the illegal transportation of pigs and chickens from Tay Ninh to Svay Rieng, and buffalos and cows from Svay Rieng to the Vietnamese province, which may make animal and livestock diseases spread through the shared border.

Tay Ninh has established inspection teams to control the trading of sick pigs between Tay Ninh and Svay Rieng.

According to the sub- department, the border district of Chau Thanh on July 18 reported another five households having ASF-infected pigs, with 53 heads of pigs culled.

After the first ASF case was found in Thanh Long commune on July 7, the disease  has been recorded in five communes of Chau Thanh district, namely Phuoc Vinh, Thanh Long, Bien Gioi, Hoa Thanh and An Co. The disease hit over 400 pigs of 29 local households.

The ASF has spread across 62 out of 63 provinces and centrally-run cities in Vietnam, forcing the cull of more than 3.3 million pigs, the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported on July 11.

The south-central province of Ninh Thuan is the only locality free from the disease, which is not curable in pigs but does not transmit to humans.-VNA