The risk of widespread African swine
fever continues to occur and quickly spread to localities where no epidemics
have broken out in localities for more than 30 days, and there exists a high
risk for the epidemic to reach large-scale pig breeding facilities, which might
result in massive destruction of pigs in the coming time.
Preventing African swine fever is the same as
combating with the enemy
In order to deal with this situation, Prime Minister
sent a telegram to ministries, sectors and localities to ask them to focus on
directing and carrying out drastic measures to prevent and control this disease.
Accordingly, Prime Minister asked levels of Party
Committees and local authorities to mobilize the whole political system to join
hands in drastically directing; administering the prevention and control of the
epidemic with the motto of “Preventing the epidemic is the same as combating the
enemy”, “Prevention is the key task and a basis for people to combat the enemy”;
directing local authorities and levels of functional agencies of localities to
closely monitor to promptly detect and destroy infected pigs according to the
guidance of specialized agencies to minimize the spread of epidemics without
causing any environmental pollution. Also, levels of local authorities from
provinces to districts, communes, villages, livestock businesses, and households
must have their appropriate backup epidemic prevention plans.
Also, Prime Minister requested to promptly detect
and strictly handle the cases in which assistance policies to help with the
destruction of sick pigs, and the cases in which false declaration of the
quantity and weight of sick pigs that are forced to be destroyed happen. It is
essential to urgently complete the veterinary system at all levels to ensure the
implementation of tasks and actively give advice to local authorities;
proactively supervise and promptly detect and deal with sick pigs; control the
transport and slaughtering of pigs.
Besides, it is necessary to disseminate propaganda
information and offer farmers instructions on how to carry out good hygiene and
disinfection measures without using leftovers to feed their pigs. Also, large
livestock households are supposed to take more bio-security measures to protect
their pigs, especially their pig breeds for re-keeping pigs after the epidemic
ends.
The Prime Minister asked the Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development to direct, guide, supervise, and urge localities to speed
up their restructuring of the livestock sector, and diversify livestock animals
and at first it is necessary to focus on developing the livestock of cattle,
poultry, aquatic products and so on to compensate for the shortage of pork
products to better serve people’s lives.
Duy Minh (T. Lien)