Disease prevention key to sustainable animal husbandry development

Following administrative restructuring, Dong Nai Province continues to maintain its position as the country’s animal husbandry “capital.” In 2025, the province supplied nearly 1.16 million tons of meat to the market, an increase of more than 5.4% from the previous year.

The industrial chicken farm in Xuan Dong commune effectively implements biosecurity measures in livestock farming. Photo: Binh Nguyen

However, as livestock herds expand rapidly, local authorities are facing significant challenges in preventing and controlling animal diseases. As a result, greater emphasis is being placed on disease prevention measures to ensure sustainable livestock development.

Many challenges in disease prevention and control

In recent times, Dong Nai province has strongly developed industrial livestock farming on a large commercial scale. Livestock farms focus on synchronously implementing biosecurity measures to achieve effective disease prevention and control. To date, the entire province has approximately 3.94 million pigs, with farm-based farming accounting for about 90% of the total herd. The total chicken herd is about 32.6 million, with farm-based production accounting for about 89% of the total.

Although small-scale farming only accounts for 10% of the total pig herd, there are still about 12,500 small-scale pig farmers and nearly 26,500 small-scale chicken farmers in the area. Because small-scale farming still attracts many households, there is a high risk of disease due to poor veterinary hygiene and the continued practice of farming in residential areas, leading to poorly implemented biosecurity measures.

Household farming is prone to disease outbreaks. In 2025, 37 communes with 178 livestock facilities across the province experienced African swine fever, leading to the culling of more than 7,400 pigs, an increase of more than 135.5% compared to 2024. In addition, many localities also saw outbreaks of other animal diseases, such as lumpy skin disease and avian influenza.

Le Hong Phong, Director of Central Veterinary Hygiene Inspection Center II, commented: In the first quarter of 2026, the disease situation remained complicated, especially avian influenza and African swine fever, which have many variants. Outbreaks occurred frequently among small-scale farming households. Dong Nai is the "capital" of livestock farming, with the country's largest livestock sector and a high concentration of breeding farms. Livestock farming plays an important role in local economic development. The province needs to effectively implement biosecurity measures in livestock farming to limit the impact of disease on the livestock sector.

Nguyen Huu Chien, Vice Chairman of Xuan Dong Commune People's Committee, said: The locality has seen strong growth in livestock farming, with many large-scale farms concentrated in the area. On March 23, a pig farm in the commune reported the deaths of pigs. Tests showed that pigs at the farm were infected with African swine fever. The cause was that the farm had brought in piglets from outside for rearing, and the source of infection was those newly brought-in piglets. To date, the outbreak has been brought under control. Disinfection and decontamination work has been carried out well. The difficulty for the locality is that many livestock facilities are concentrated in the area, yet it currently has only one veterinary officer and faces a shortage of human resources, especially during an outbreak when a rapid-response force is needed to contain the disease.

Nguyen Truong Giang, Head of the Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine of Dong Nai province, said: In recent times, disease prevention and control efforts in communes and wards across the province have been well implemented. Disease prevention and control require speed and efficiency; as soon as disease information becomes available, it must be addressed immediately. The Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine always coordinates well with localities in disease prevention and control. When a locality reports an outbreak, the unit promptly responds within 24 hours to coordinate with the locality in handling it.

Proactive measures for disease prevention and control

To proactively and effectively prevent and control diseases, localities have, from the beginning of the year, actively developed plans and allocated funds for disease prevention and control in livestock and poultry, as well as in aquaculture, in 2026.

At the Conference on Disease Prevention and Control in Livestock in 2026, a representative of Binh Phuoc Ward said: To date, the Binh Phuoc Ward People's Committee has consistently identified disease prevention and control as a key, regular task to protect public health and contribute to local economic development. In particular, African swine fever has appeared in the area and still poses a risk of recurring. The locality has focused on simultaneously implementing a range of disease prevention and control measures to prevent any spread. Disease surveillance in areas with livestock facilities has been given special attention. In 2026, the Binh Phuoc Ward People's Committee will continue to focus on implementing the plans assigned by the province; stepping up public awareness work on disease prevention and control and safe livestock farming; and raising vaccination rates while monitoring household livestock farming.

Nguyen Tri Cong, Chairman of the Dong Nai Livestock Association, shared: Disease outbreaks among pigs, chickens, buffalo, and cattle remain complex. Burying diseased animals on-site at farms where outbreaks occur poses the risk of contaminating groundwater and allowing disease sources to persist for extended periods. Localities should adopt more appropriate solutions for handling diseased pigs and chickens, especially on large-scale livestock farms, to limit disease spread. The African swine fever situation also remains complex, especially on small-scale farms, as vaccine effectiveness remains low. Dong Nai province has done a good job of controlling and monitoring disease. However, the province needs to pay greater attention to and exercise tighter control over slaughtering activities, especially by effectively tackling illegal slaughtering, which would contribute greatly to disease control.

By Binh Nguyen – Translated by Mai Nga, Minho