African swine fever (ASF) has apparently been discovered for the first time in Vietnam on three farms in recent times.
Located in the Hung Yen and Thai Binh provinces, to the south-east of Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, pigs on all three farms have been culled, according to international media outlet Reuters.
“The disease is not infectious for humans, so people and farmers shouldn’t panic,” Pham Van Dong, head of the department, reportedly told a press conference in Hanoi.
“Consumers can continue to use (pork) products and shouldn’t boycott these products,” Dong said.
94% of all losses (5,672 of 6,024 animals) occurred in Asia, the report notes. In Asia, China notified 4,776 losses, while Mongolia had 896.
In Europe, the OIE noted that there was an “important decrease in the amount of losses”, as in the current period 196 domestic animals were notified as dead or destroyed, compared to 1,005 in the previous report.
Finally, in Africa, Zimbabwe notified the animal health authority of 156 losses.