On Thursday, the Da Nang authorities destroyed a herd of 75 pigs owned by a family in An Son Village, Hoa Ninh Commune, Hoa Vang District, after these animals were tested positive for African swine fever (ASF)

This is the first ASF outbreak to be detected so far this year in this mountainous commune, and marks the largest number of pigs to have been culled in the suburb district.

Previously, a herd of 53 pigs infected with the highly contagious disease had been destroyed in An Ngai Dong Village, Hoa Son Commune, Hoa Vang District.

Functional bodies have been making every effort to increase their monitoring of pig farms, slaughtering facilities, markets, supermarkets, and trading areas of pigs and pork products in a bid to ensure safe pork supply in the city despite increased risks of ASF transmission.

The AFS disease, first discovered in the northern province of Hung Yen on February 1 this year, has to date spread to 61 provinces and cities nationwide. As a result, more than 2.9 million pigs or 10% of the country’s pig population were culled.

A vaccine against AFS virus recently developed by the Viet Nam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) has produced initial positive outcomes on experimental scale.