Local authorities and pig breeders in the highland province of Dak Lak are worried as thousands of pigs are becoming fast infected with the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus or what is commonly known as the blue ear disease.
Around 5,000 pigs are infected with the disease in the province, said Le Khac Chuyen, head of the Department of Animal Health in the province and 1,900 dead pigs have so far already been buried.
The blue ear disease has now spread rapidly across eight districts in the province, with Ea Kar District suffering the most with 2,500 affected pigs.
Provincial leaders have set up five quarantine stations along main streets to prevent transportation of pigs in and out of the affected areas. Some 20,000 doses of vaccines have been earmarked for the province this week.
In addition, breeders who have lost their pigs to the pandemic are being forced to slaughter their entire herd; with the government providing them with VND30,000 per kilo as compensation for lost pork, which is 70-80 percent of the market price.
In related news, the central province of Quang Binh on August 6 announced an outbreak of bird flu in Quang Trach District, the third district in the province to report an outbreak.
Pham Hong Son, head of the Department of Animal Health, said fresh outbreaks in Trung Thach and Hoan Trach Communes of Quang Trach District resulted in the mass killing of some 2,300 chickens.
Meanwhile, local governments in Le Thuy and Quang Ninh Districts have stepped up measures to tackle the disease.
