About390 pigs have died in the latest outbreak in two districts of the northernmostprovince, some 732 km north of Vientiane.
OnJuly 11, staff from the Lao Agriculture and Forestry Office carried out checksand confirmed the presence of African swine fever in two villages of Khuadistrict of Phongsaly.
Thepigs that have died were owned by 35 families, so officials are now helpingthem bury the carcasses and use disinfectant to prevent the disease from spreading.
Officialsalso found the virus in Bounneua district. Villagers have been forbidden totransport or sell pigs in a bid to contain the outbreak.
Earlier,the virus was first detected in the southern Lao province of Salavan, some 670km southeast of the capital Vientiane, then spread to parts of Vientiane, andSavannakhet province, some 410 km east of Vientiane.
Africanswine fever cannot be passed from animals to humans, but people can spread thedisease. The animal epidemic affects pigs and wild boars and has an almost 100percent death rate. It requires high temperatures to kill the virus, which cansurvive up to three years in frozen meat and up to one year in dried meat.-VNA