Vietnam - Bird flu, pig disease cooling down: Animal Health Department

[Gert van der Hoek]

Bird flu, pig disease cooling down: Animal Health Department


Vietnam?s Animal Health Department reported Sunday that recent outbreaks of both bird flu and the porcine blue ear disease were fading.
The department confirmed that the northern province of Ninh Binh had been declared bird flu free.

Three provinces are still plagued by bird flu ? Dien Bien in the north, Quang Binh in the center and Dong Thap in the Mekong Delta region.

A province is declared bird flu-free after it goes 21 consecutive days without a new case, according to the ministry.

Last week, the blue-ear disease, known in medical parlance as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), was reported in Danang city, Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

But the department said Danang and Quang Ngai had seen no new blue ear infections in the last few days.

Meanwhile, in Quang Nam province, the number of infected pigs fell from 29,000 to some 7,000 as of Sunday.

Local animal health centers are strengthening quarantines, sterilizing infected areas and culling all infected pigs.

However, some 32 pigs in the Mekong Delta?s Long An province showed signs of the disease yesterday.

Ongoing diagnostic work on the pigs has yet to yield conclusive results.

PRRS in pigs is caused by the Lelstad virus, which causes ears to turn blue, appetite loss, high fever, miscarriage, premature delivery, coughing, respiratory problems, and death in extreme cases.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/healthy/?catid=8&newsid=30500

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Vietnam - Bird flu, pig disease cooling down: Animal Health Department

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=numberdate vAlign=top align=left bgColor=#3a84fd height=16>Thursday , Aug 02, 2007, Posted at: 17:51(GMT+7)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=thanh vAlign=top align=left>Pigs Must Be Bought From Farms for Slaughter</TD></TR><TR><TD class=tintop_text vAlign=top align=left>The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Animal Health stressed that slaughterhouses must buy pigs from farms which are under the control of vets.

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</TD></TR><TR><TD class=Image>View of a slaughtering house</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>​

To prevent Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) ? also called ?Blue Ear? ? in the city, processing and slaughtering units must use pigs with clear origins from big farms.

Employees from nearly 150 cattle and related products processing and slaughtering units were yesterday instructed how to distinguish sick pigs and to curb transmission to human.
Workers at slaughtering houses must wear gloves, masks and wellington boots in killing pigs. More than 150 remaining units will be provided instructions today.

In related news, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Animal Health found 31 pigs without certificates of origin in a house at 2/9 Buu Dinh Street, District 6 on July 31. Tests run on the pigs will be presented in the next few days. However, the violators may be sued at the instruction of the government.

Pertaining to the prevention of blue ear disease, the Mekong Delta provinces are beefing up proactive measures. In the southern city of Can Tho, Cau Bac controlling station has tightened the supervision of imported pigs from Vinh Long Province.
Veterinary workers are working around the clock at big slaughtering houses to prevent diseased pigs from mingling with healthy ones.
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http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/National/2007/8/57336/

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Vietnam - Bird flu, pig disease cooling down: Animal Health Department

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=numberdate vAlign=top align=left bgColor=#3a84fd height=16>Wednesday, Aug 01, 2007, Posted at: 16:37(GMT+7)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=thanh vAlign=top align=left>Blue Ear Outbreak Prompts Crisis Meeting</TD></TR><TR><TD class=tintop_text vAlign=top align=left>The Ho Chi Minh City Steering Board for Disease Control convened an urgent meeting yesterday to discuss ways of combating the rapidly spreading pig disease Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus, commonly known as blue ear.

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</TD></TR><TR><TD class=Image>Vets check pork at Pham Van Hai wholesale market</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>​

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Animal Health said pig farmers should not increase their herds until the danger had passed, and should kill the pigs they do have, then freeze and process them.
Nguyen Phuoc Thao, director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, advised that vaccination against infectious diseases be stepped up.
To deal with a possible epidemic actively, he said, those responsible for controlling the disease must be determined to kill all pigs with blue ear so that it cannot spread.
The flip side of this, as was pointed out at the meeting, is that illegal slaughterhouses and businesses will shut their doors if they see an inspector anywhere in the vicinity.
Inspectors need a warrant before searching a farm or business premises, but it takes a long time to get one because of all the paperwork and other formalities.
Moreover, some farmers are banking on big profits from the reduced supply of pork, but only if their animals are lucky enough not to contract the disease.

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</TD></TR><TR><TD class=Image>an inspector does his duty at An Lac controlling station </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>​

At the local level, authorities in Binh Chanh District are beefing up their monitoring of the streets and rivers and asking that pig farmers to cooperate by not increasing their herds or raising pigs whose origin is unknown.
In Long An Province on Monday, inspectors found a diseased pig among four that had just been taken to a slaughterhouse in Can Giuoc District.
They killed all four pigs immediately and the Long An Department of Animal Health penalized a local vet for failing to spot the sick animal.
For some reasons, blue ear seems to be less of a problem in Central Viet Nam.
Quang Nam?s Department of Animal Health says only 2,119 diseased pigs have been found in the province, and only in four districts - Duy Xuyen, Dien Ban, Que Son and Thang Binh.
In nearby Da Nang, vets are treating 180 pigs with blue ear. Cao Xuan Thai, who heads the coastal city?s Department of Animal Health, says authorities and farmers have worked well to control the disease.
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http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/National/2007/8/57282/

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Vietnam - Bird flu, pig disease cooling down: Animal Health Department

<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD class=tintop_title vAlign=top align=left>Blue ear disease unlikely to leap to humans: agriculture official</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news_date vAlign=top align=left height=20>20:55' 03/08/2007 (GMT+7) </TD></TR><TR><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left>

VietNamNet Bridge ? There is no scientific evidence to suggest that people can catch blue ear disease from pigs. :magnify: Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong said at a meeting on fighting livestock disease in Hanoi on Tuesday.
<TABLE class="" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=200 align=right fck_template="imagecontener"><TBODY><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=image_desc align=middle></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Bong said it was safe to eat pork at unaffected sites and pig products meeting food sanitation and safety standards.
As part of efforts to control diseases among livestock, Bong said the Government was providing VND25bil (nearly US$1.6mil) to the provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien - Hue and Da Nang City to combat blue ear disease in pigs.
Blue-ear is under control in the worst-hit Quang Nam and Da Nang. In Quang Nam only 2,100 pigs remain infected, a drop of 90% from the peak period in mid-July.
However, Bong stressed that the blue ear was different to another infection afflicting pigs in the country, streptococcus suis.
Although the disease had not become an outbreak in the country, a report released last week by the Institute of Clinical Medicine and Tropical Diseases revealed 26 people had contracted it, two of whom had died.
Initial investigations showed that more than 70% of patients infected with streptococcus suis had contact with pig's blood, either by eating it or in slaughtering the animals.
There is hitherto no evidence to suggest the infection could spread from human to human.
As part of efforts to combat the disease, the Ministry of Health has urged farmers not to slaughter sick animals or use their corpses as animal feed, with all culling done under strict regulations.
The ministry has also warned traders not to buy and sell pork without authorised certification of origin or quarantine.
To fight the disease, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has established a working team including animal health experts to monitor the spread of streptococcus suis and propose preventive methods.
The ministry has also opened training classes to help local animal health workers diagnose and treat the infection. It has also pressed localities to help people understand the cause and spread of streptococcus suis, mitigating worry that might put people off eating safe meat.
Although very rare in humans, if contracted streptococcus suis can cause meningitis, septicaemia or even toxic shock syndrome.
Stopping the spread
The HCM City administration has ordered animal health officials to take drastic measures to keep out blue ear disease that has infected pigs in many parts of the country.
The city's Animal Health Department is closely monitoring the transport of pigs into the area, especially from central and Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces.
Officials have told farmers not to add to their pig herds for the time being. Veterinary workers are regularly disinfecting pig farms and inspecting slaughter-houses to ensure sanitation in order to stem the spread of blue ear disease.
Nguyen Phuoc Thao, director of the city's Agriculture and Rural Development, said vaccinations should be stepped up against epidemics like Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, as blue ear disease is called by the medical fraternity, and foot-and-mouth disease in cattle.
He warned farmers to raise pigs of good quality with certificates of origin to ensure the safety of consumers.
He said the suburban district of Binh Chanh, the city's biggest pig supplier, should strengthen quarantine control at the city's gateways, including waterways, to prevent the smuggling of unsafe pigs into the city.
Long An struck
After three incidents of blue ear disease were reported last week in Can Giuoc District, authorities in Long An Province on Wednesday declared it an infected area.
Lieu Trung Nguon, deputy director of Long An's Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said animal health workers had disinfected affected farms and culled unquarantined pigs on Tuesday.
About 100 infected pigs have died or been destroyed by the workers.​

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http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2007/08/725903/

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Vietnam - Bird flu, pig disease cooling down: Animal Health Department

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=ds vAlign=top width=435 height=0>Last Updated: <!--2007-08-03 20:38:41 todaysDate = Date(07, 08, 03, 20, 38, 41); --><SCRIPT language=JavaScript> dayarray = new Array("Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday","Saturday"); montharray = new Array("January", "February", "March", "April","May", "June", "July", "August", "September", "October", "November", "December"); todaysDate = new Date("August 03, 2007 20:38:41"); document.write(dayarray[todaysDate.getDay()] + ", " + montharray[todaysDate.getMonth()] + " " + todaysDate.getDate() + ", "); //if (todaysDate.getYear() < 1000){ //document.write(todaysDate.getYear() + 2000); //} else { document.write(todaysDate.getFullYear()); //} document.write(" 20:38:41 Vietnam (GMT+07)"); </SCRIPT>Friday, August 3, 2007 20:38:41 Vietnam (GMT+07) </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top><!--This begin of the news --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="100%" colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="50%" height=30>javascript:openwindowopt('http://ww...ties/email.php?catid=8&newsid=30652',400,460)</TD><TD width="50%">http://www.thanhniennews.com/print.php?catid=8&newsid=30652</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left height=35>Pig disease:Vietnam gov?t calls for swift culling of sick animals
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width="100%" colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=20 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=left colSpan=2>

</TD><TD align=left width=5></TD></TR><TR><TD class=cap align=left colSpan=2></TD><TD align=left width=5></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Pigs suspected to have blue ear disease must be summarily culled without waiting for test results to prevent a possible epidemic in the south, the Vietnamese government has instructed local officials. </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left>

The spread of Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), as the disease is medically known, was reportedly more rapid than the foot-and-mouth epidemic and could cost the economy dear, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong told a conference Friday in the southern Long An province.
Long An was the first province in the region to be affected by PRRS, losing 91 pigs last month which led to a plunge in pork prices.
Warned it would take pig farmers several years to rebuild their business if an epidemic struck, Bong called for a swift cull of pigs found infected.
But he discounted earlier fears that the disease could spread to humans.
He told farmers to neither hide infections in their herds nor sell diseased animals surreptitiously. He also advised them not to dispose of dead pigs by throwing them into rivers.
No transport halt
Bong rejected a request by Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday to stop the transport of pigs from the northern and central regions, saying it would give rise to smuggling and be unfair to disease-free provinces.
Instead, he called for beefing up checks on the transport of pigs.:surrender:
Agencies from 21 southern provinces attended the meeting.
The epidemic has badly hit four central provinces and cities ? Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Danang, and Thua Thien Hue ? which have lost over 32,000 pigs.
PRRS in pigs is caused by the Lelstad virus which causes ears to turn blue, appetite loss, high fever, miscarriage, premature delivery, coughing, respiratory problems, and even death in extreme cases.:tiphat: ​

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