Some 82,000 pigs in Vietnam Infected with Blue Ear
VIET NAM - Almost 82,000 pigs in Vietnam's central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh and northern Thanh Hoa are infected with Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), says local vet agencies.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked all relevant agencies to cull all infected pigs in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease PRRS is now active in four Vietnamese localities, Nghe An, HaTinh, Thanh Hoa and central Quang Nam province. There are fears that the disease will spread throughout the nation's pig sector and cause similar devastation to that seen in China last year. The current economic situation, with pork shortages and food prices rising across the world, could not withstand high losses.
The 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.
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10 April 2008
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