A pig breeding facility in Vietnam (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The Department of AnimalHealth under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) affirmed onMarch 20 that the information carried by some foreign news agencies with thecontent “FAO recommends Vietnam to declare African swine fever (ASF) as a stateof national emergency” is inaccurate.
In fact, the MARD has yet to receive anyrecommendations from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UnitedNations in Vietnam about this issue, a representative of the department said.
According to the representative, Vietnam hasregulations on when to declare a state of national emergency. Meanwhile acrossthe world, no countries have been told that must declare the African swinefever a state of national emergency. China had to destroy over 1 millioninfected pigs, but have not had to declare the outbreak a state of nationalemergency.
More specifically, this virus is not spreadthrough humans, so there is no basis to declare it a state of nationalemergency, the representative stressed.
The reality is that relevant agencies of Vietnamfrom central to local levels are taking drastic measures to prevent and curbthis disease.
The FAO issued recommendations for livestockfarmers in reporting any suspected cases to veterinary agencies and complyingwith prevention measures, such as keeping the breeding facilities and means oftransportation clean.
Since the ASF broke out in China in 2018, FAOhas provided technical support for the animal health department of Vietnam tobuild a national action plan to put the ASF under control, while evaluating therisks of the disease and holding emergency response rehearsals in Lao Cai province.
The FAO also held a regional workshop onpreparing measures to tackle ASF for veterinary officials from Vietnam, Laos,Myanmar, and China to enhance cooperation to stop the spread of the disease inSoutheast Asia.
Pawin Padungtod, Senior Technical Coordinator atthe FAO, said that the UN agency will closely work with Vietnamese ministry’sagencies to take technical measures to help the country swiftly control thisdisease.
According to the animal health department, bylate March 20, the ASF had been recorded in 20 provinces and cities nationwide,with the most recent outbreaks reported in the northern border province of LaiChau.–VNA
VNA
