August 12, 2010

Blue-ear disease hits Vietnam's 236,661 pigs

Vietnam's Animal Health Department has reported that the blue-ear disease has stricken as many as 236,661 pigs in Vietnam so far this year, with 97,550 being dead or destroyed.

The pandemic is spreading to 293 communes of 48 districts in 16 central and southern provinces, affecting 80,070 pigs. The head of the Department Hoang Van Nam is discussing the measures against the disease at a meeting in Hanoi on August 10.

Several months ago, the pandemic damaged 156,591 pigs in 16 cities and provinces in the north. Deputy Minister Diep Kinh Tan blamed local authorities and animal health workers for the pandemic's spread.

"Local government did not offer inappropriate compensation for breeders who had their affected pigs destroyed," Tan said. Animal health workers were not trained well enough to instruct breeders to curb the disease.

The deputy minister requested the department to mobilise almost all resources to put blue-ear disease under control.