African swine fever is on the rise

According to the Department of Animal Health, recent outbreaks have mainly occurred in small-scale farms, where breeding stock of unknown origin is purchased, and where barn hygiene is poor. The provincial and district veterinary systems are currently very loose, and do not ensure resources for disease prevention and control because localities have merged into the Agricultural Service Center. There are cases of hiding the epidemic, slow reporting of the epidemic, selling and slaughtering sick pigs, suspected pigs, and dumping dead pigs.

Many localities and farmers have not yet paid attention to and used the African swine fever vaccine for their pigs. The reason is that it has only been widely used since July 2023, and localities have not yet had a plan; the African swine fever vaccine is not yet on the list of mandatory vaccinations. The cost of the vaccine is still relatively high, about 40,000 VND/dose for the vaccine of Navetco Central Veterinary Medicine Joint Stock Company and about 60,000 VND/dose for the vaccine of AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company.

Regarding vaccine supply, the Department of Animal Health said that Navetco and AVAC have produced 4.5 million doses. In total, the two companies have supplied and used over 1.6 million doses in more than 40 provinces and cities; from July 2023 to now, 450,000 doses have been used in about 30 provinces and cities.

To thoroughly handle the outbreak and prevent the disease from spreading widely, the Department of Animal Health requests localities to strictly implement Official Dispatch No. 1097/CD-TTg dated November 16, 2023 of the Prime Minister on the prevention and control of African swine fever.

The Department of Animal Health is reviewing and submitting to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for decision to add African swine fever to the list of diseases requiring mandatory vaccination; at the same time, advising and directing localities to have plans to use vaccines for pork herds. The Department reports, evaluates, and publicizes the results of using African swine fever vaccines in localities so that people can use them with confidence.

The Department of Animal Health is directing research units to evaluate the use of African swine fever vaccines for sows and boars; and discuss with businesses ways to reduce vaccine costs.

The Department of Animal Health established inspection and supervision teams to support localities in preventing and controlling terrestrial animal diseases.

Since the beginning of 2023, there have been 576 outbreaks of African swine fever in 530 communes of 44 provinces and cities nationwide; the number of sick, dead and culled pigs is 24,218, down 62.53% over the same period in 2022. Currently, African swine fever is present in 28 provinces and cities.

Since the beginning of the year, the epidemic has been most severe in the provinces of Lang Son (especially in Loc Binh district), Cao Bang (Trung Khanh), Dak Lak, Quang Binh, Son La, and Binh Phuoc.