October 17, 2007

Vietnam PM calls drive to curb spread of blue ear disease

Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ordered animal health authorities to take immediate measures to control blue-ear pig disease, stating livestock producers aren't aware of the threat posed by the virus.

He says the epidemic has been present for several months - with complicated developments.

PM Dung said local leaders and most livestock raisers have neither had a full awareness of the danger of the epidemic, nor have they been on high alert.

He has ordered local governments to use their budgets to battle the disease, including paying compensation to farmers whose pigs are culled. He also asked officials to increase the information drive about the epidemic.

The government hasn't said the actual number of pigs infected with the disease, also scientifically known as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome reported in three provinces in Vietnam.

The disease, which has also spread to parts of China, does not infect humans but reduces immunity in pigs, causing secondary infections of bacterial diseases like salmonella and possibly other viruses.