Ninh Thuan, Vietnam’s last stronghold against African swine fever, has fallen.
As of this week, all 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam have reported the presence of African swine fever in local pig farms, a worrying development for the local animal husbandry industry. Ninh Thuan was the last province to be affected, according to VnExpress.
The Ninh Thuan sub-department of livestock production and animal health confirmed last Saturday that the viral disease was detected at a pig farm in Ninh Son District. The facility’s herd of 354 pigs died suddenly, and tests showed that they were afflicted with the incurable illness.
Local veterinary officials shared that the animals were culled and the threat contained with disinfectant. They also established checkpoints to stop the delivery of more infected pigs. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam has disposed of four million pigs — 13% of the national stock — since African swine fever was first detected in the country.
African swine fever first arrived in the north of Vietnam in February and quickly spread southwards. It reached Saigon in June and infected the entire country last week. While the disease is not dangerous to humans, an infection is almost 100% fatal in pigs, leading to pork shortage and industry disruption. Experts warned that its spread could have severe implications on the local economy.
Vietnam is the sixth-largest pork producer globally, with a population of 30 million pigs and the industry supporting the livelihood of 2.4 million households. The protein also makes up 70% of the Vietnamese diet. Although demand for pork products has slightly waned due to concerns over swine fever, the outbreak will still result in a 500,000-ton shortage from July this year until spring of next year, according to a report by Ipsos Business Consulting.
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