August 21, 2007

Vietnam sends blue ear disease samples to US for testing
 

Vietnamese veterinary officials have sent virus samples of blue ear disease, or Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), to US laboratories for DNA testing. The aim is to confirm whether the PRRS strain is related to the one that killed some 1 million pigs in China last year.

Vietnam reported its first case of PRRS in June, with some 28,000 pigs infected by end-July, according to an interview between Reuters and Vietnam's animal health department.

US experts have visited the South-east Asian country to assist authorities in investigating the recent outbreak. Vietnam is also cooperating with China to deal with the epidemic and has invited a Chinese veterinary expert for additional expertise.

It is suspected that the virus strain in Vietnam is a more unusual type, and is infecting both adult pigs and piglets.