Vietnam Kills Pigs after Swine Flu Outbreak, 1.7 Million Culled So Far

Vietnam, May 28, 2019:

Southeast Asian country Vietnam has taken strict measures to curb the outbreak of American Swine Flu in the country. In the last week itself, over 5 lakh pigs were culled in Vietnam. This takes the total number of pigs culled in the country to 1.7 million (which is 5% of the country's total pig population).

This was confirmed by the agriculture ministry of Vietnam on Monday.

It may be mentioned that pork is the most commonly consumed meat in the nation as it accounts for three-quarters of total consumption in Vietnam, a country of 95 million people. Most of the country's 30 million farm-raised pigs are consumed domestically.

The agriculture ministry’s Livestock Production Department said in a statement on its website that the virus, first detected in the Southeast Asian country in February, has spread to 42 of the country’s 63 provinces, raising alarm across the country.

Agriculture minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said in the statement has said that the African swine fever outbreak is the most dangerous and costly of its kind in the husbandry industry of Vietnam.

Cuong also said it is difficult to contain the outbreak given that the virus remains dormant in the environment for a long time and can spread through complex and varied means.

It may be mentioned that although the virus first appeared nearly 100 years ago, there has been no vaccine and no medicine for treating the disease.

China, the world’s largest pork producer, which has also been hit by the virus, said on Friday it will start work on clinical trials of a vaccine for African swine fever, which is fatal to animals but not harmful to humans.

Earlier this month, Vietnam said it will mobilize its military and police forces to help combat the outbreak.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in March advised Vietnam to declare the swine fever outbreak as a "national emergency".

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