September 3, 2007

Vietnam's Quang Nam province resumes pork trade

Authorities in the province of Quang Nam in Central Vietnam said Thursday (August 30) that it resumed pork trade as there were no new blue ear disease outbreaks on pig farms in the last 21 days.

Nguyen Duc Hai, head of the province administration, said normal activities had resumed Friday (August 31).

However, animal health experts warn that the blue ear disease virus or scientifically known as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) said the disease can exist in infected animals for up to two months.

Quang Nam recorded its first outbreak in June after when the disease spread to 11 districts and communes, infected over 32,000 pigs, and caused the culling of about 9,000 animals.

Seven provinces were hit in Vietnam but only three remain on the infected list - Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau - according to the Animal Health Department.

The PRRS virus, first recognized in the US in the mid-1980s, reduces immunity in pigs and leads to secondary infections of bacterial diseases like Streptococcus Suis and salmonella, and is also associated with other viruses.