African swine fever has been detected on three farms in northern Vietnam, the Animal Health Department said on Tuesday.
According to a report by Mai Nguyen and Khanh Vu on Reuter, authorities have culled all the pigs on the farms located in Hung Yen and Thai Binh provinces, southeast of the capital Hanoi, the department said.
The highly contagious fever is incurable in pigs but does not harm people. The disease has spread rapidly across neighboring China since August, affecting 25 provinces and regions.
Pork accounts for three quarters of total meat consumption in Vietnam, a country of 95 million people. Most pigs are consumed domestically.
On Feb 17, Philippines has ordered a temporary ban on pork coming from Vietnam amid reports that pork samples from that country tested positive for African Swine Fever (ASF). The temporary ban on such products from entering the Philippines, which was recommended by Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Director Dr. Ronnie Domingo, comes after reports showed that pork from Vietnam, intercepted by quarantine authorities, tested positive for ASF.
The Agriculture chief also noted that while the memorandum which will implement the ban is yet to be signed, he has already ordered the BAI to “immediately effect the ban today.”
“The Philippines is one of the few countries in the world which is free from livestock diseases, including Foot and Mouth Disease,” Piñol said. “Vietnam is the latest to be included in the list of countries which could not ship pork and pork products to the Philippines because of the ASF,” he added.