Grassroots-led efforts for African swine fever prevention and control

The situation of African swine fever nationwide, and in Dong Nai in particular, has increased significantly compared to the same period last year. Forecasts indicate that the risk of the disease re-emerging and spreading further remains very high in the coming time.

African swine fever vaccination organized at a farm in Dau Giay Commune. Photo: Binh Nguyen

At the online conference on African swine fever prevention and control in the province held on August 14, Nguyen Thi Hoang, Provincial Party Committee member and Vice Chairwoman of the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee, emphasized that one key solution is to strengthen communication so that livestock farmers fully understand and refrain from concealing outbreaks. She stressed the need to mobilize the entire political system in the fight against the disease. In particular, the role of the grassroots levels must be promoted to promptly and decisively handle outbreaks, preventing the emergence of new infection clusters.

High risks from small-scale farming

From the beginning of the year to August 10, Dong Nai Province recorded 24 hotbeds of African swine fever across 20 communes, forcing the culling of more than 4,100 pigs. Compared with the same period in 2024, the number of hotbeds has risen by 187.5%, while pig deaths and culling have surged by more than 718%.

The disease situation in several localities remains complicated. For example, Phuoc Son Commune has a pig herd of nearly 121,200, with the majority raised on a small scale by 249 household farmers. In addition, the commune has six contracted farming facilities and seven large-scale farms. African swine fever has occurred in six households across four hamlets, resulting in the culling of 97 pigs with a total weight of nearly five tons.

An Loc Ward currently has a pig herd of more than 11,800, mainly raised by small-scale household farmers interspersed within residential areas. This has been a key factor behind the recent existence of three African swine fever hotbeds in the ward, which led to the culling of more than 2,100 pigs. At present, one household farm in the ward continues to report scattered pig deaths of 2–4 animals per day due to the disease. Disease control efforts have been hindered by the fact that some farmers remain complacent and conceal outbreaks, complicating containment measures.

Nguyen Truong Giang, Head of the Dong Nai Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Animal Health, noted: Investigations into the epidemic hotbeds and traceability of the disease indicate that the disease likely arose because some farmers failed to implement proper biosecurity measures. People and vehicles entering farms were not disinfected, and, notably, all investigated facilities were found to be using raw pork to prepare animal feed, with waste water from meat washing flowing into pig-rearing areas. The investigations also revealed continued concealment of outbreaks, emergency selling of sick pigs, and illegal slaughter and transport. In addition, unfavorable weather conditions and a shortage of veterinary staff at the commune level have further contributed to the complicated disease situation.

In recent months, disease surveillance in the province has been intensified at both farms and traditional markets. Since the beginning of the year, veterinary forces have collected more than 1,300 samples for African swine fever virus testing, with some positive results detected at markets and pig farms. Of approximately 2,000 farms in Dong Nai, 333 have been officially certified as disease-free.

Completely handling the epidemic hotbeds on the spot

The current major difficulty is that the resources for disease prevention and control in the locality are still limited, and some localities still do not have veterinary staff, specialized in disease prevention and control tasks.

“Currently, the commune has only one officer in charge of all tasks, from drafting documents, organizing implementation, preparing records, handling financial settlement, to reporting. Therefore, timely and coordinated support and guidance from higher levels are essential to ensure disease prevention and control are both effective and in compliance with regulations.”

Chairman of Phuoc Son Commune People's Committee Tran Ngoc Dong shared: Currently, the commune only arranges one official to be in charge of all stages such as: drafting documents, organizing implementation, making records, reporting. ..., among others. Therefore, timely and synchronous support and guidance from superiors is needed to ensure that disease prevention and control work is effective and in accordance with regulations. In addition, Phuoc Son Commune People's Committee proposed that Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee direct specialized agencies to send specialized staff to increase on-site technical support, guide the destruction process, quarantine, and environmental treatment for affected livestock households or those at risk of infection; create conditions for the commune to soon sign a contract for veterinary staff to add more specialized human resources to the locality...

Nguyen Van Thang, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, affirmed: “With a herd of nearly 4.2 million pigs, Dong Nai has the largest swine population in the country. The province is implementing a series of urgent measures to prevent the spread of the disease, striving to maintain livestock safety, protect the pig farming sector, and safeguard the food supply. Particularly in newly merged localities, where veterinary staff remain insufficient, efforts have been made but must be further strengthened with greater proactiveness in both disease control and communication to ensure biosecurity among farmers.”

According to Nguyen Thi Hoang, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People’s Committee, the fact that the two-tier local government has only recently been established, while grassroots veterinary forces are not yet systematically in place, is an immediate obstacle that makes epidemic control difficult. She stressed that the province will urgently address these shortcomings to quickly contain and prevent African swine fever outbreaks in the near future. This includes requiring the Department of Agriculture and Environment to conduct training for local veterinary officers, establish inspection and supervision teams to handle hotbeds, and allocate funding to localities for the effective implementation of disease prevention and control plans.

                                                                                           By: Nguyet Ha

Translated by: Thu Cuc - Thu Ha