July 30, 2010

Vietnam reports new blue-ear outbreaks

New outbreaks of the blue-ear pig disease have been reported in the provinces of Tien Giang, Bac Lieu, and Quang Nam.

The disease has now spread to 10 provinces and cities across Vietnam. Eight out of 10 districts in Tien Giang claim to have culled 3,504 out of 10,300 infected pigs.

"Due to the lack of control measures, the disease has been spreading rapidly," said Le Minh Khanh, head of the Tien Giang provincial Department of Animal Health. The province has set up five check-points but traders can still find ways of moving animals illegally by using smaller roads and paths.

Bac Lieu province has so far destroyed 181 pigs in 6 villages in three districts. In Quang Nam province, the disease has also detected at 44 households in Dien Phuoc village. Some provinces have successfully put the disease under control. Lang Son claims to have seen no new outbreak over the past 21 days. Cao Bang has reported no new outbreaks over the past week.

The 10 provinces infected with the blue-ear pig disease are Lao Cai, Cao Bang, Nghe An, Quang Nam, Quang Tri, Binh Phuoc, Soc Trang, Tien Giang, Long An, Bac Lieu.