Vietnam To Temporary Ban Pig Transport To Prevent Disease Spread

HANOI, April 23 (Bernama) -- Vietnam is considering the possibility of placing a temporary ban on North-South transport of pigs and on pig trade via border gates with foreign countries, in a move to prevent the spread of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), or known as "blue ear" disease.

On April 22, over 7,100 pigs in Vietnam's central and northern regions were found being infected with PRRS.

Now, a total of 10 provinces -- Ha Tinh, Quang Nam, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Lam Dong, Thua Thien Hue, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh -- are being hit by the disease, China's XINHUA news agency quoted a local daily as saying here on Wednesday.




Only quarantined live pigs from non-PRRS provinces could be exported, local newspaper Vietnam News on Wednesday quoted Vietnamese deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong as saying.

PRRS was first recognized in the United States in the mid-1980s and is now present in most pig producing countries. The symptoms include reproductive failure, pneumonia and increased susceptibility to secondary bacterial infection.

-- BERNAMA