May 26, 2008

PRRS hits more Vietnam provinces
 
 

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), known as blue ear disease, has hit southern Vinh Long province, raising the total number of affected localities in Vietnam to 10.

The disease has infected 223 pigs raised by a household in Vinh Long town and killed nine of them, according to the Department of Animal Health.

PRRS has already struck the provinces of Thanh Hoa, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh in the northern region, and Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Lam Dong and Thua Thien Hue in the central region, and Vinh Long, said the department.

PRRS was first recognized in the United States in the mid-1980s and is now present in most pig producing countries. The symptoms include reproductive failure, pneumonia and increased susceptibility to secondary bacterial infection.