Cambodia raises concerns over swine flu epidemic | #AsiaNewsNetwork



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Officials suspect that the disease could have spread to Som Trak, Som Kol and ten villages in O'Yadav district, Ratanakkiri province, following an epidemic of fever occurred in Som Kaninh village, Som Thom commune, on March 22nd.

The Director General of the Directorate General of Animal Health and Production, Tan Phannara, said on Monday that suspicions had emerged while hog farming practices on local family farms involve allowing hogs from their cages to look for food and slaughter those who died of diseases – unaware of the outbreak of African swine fever.

All three villages experienced a series of pig deaths, such as the first home in Som Kaninh village. A total of 193 pigs were purchased from the population to prevent further contagion.

"What we saw, the disease may have spread to the three villages. We go to the villages and warn them to be extra careful because of the fever, "he said.

Phannara said this at the first national advisory workshop on the African Swine Fever Preparedness and Response Plan, organized by FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) in a hotel in Phnom Penh Monday.

Government representatives, development partners and private sector actors of pork farming participated in the workshop.

He added that the outbreak of African swine fever did not result from the illegal importation of Vietnamese pigs, due to the lack of a border gate in Ratanakkiri province, which allows the import and export of pigs.

Only three provinces – Svay Rieng, Takeo and Tbong Khmum – had pigs imported from Vietnam, but the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries had previously closed the three provinces of pork transport for nearly two months, as a result of 29 cases of illegal imports of pork from Vietnam. .

According to Phannara, the disease spread to the Kingdom because the Vietnamese transported all kinds of meat and vegetables for sale to the people of Ratanakkiri province.

However, Kristina Osbjer, head of the team at the FAO's Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases in Cambodia, said African swine fever could not be pbaded on to humans, even while eating sick pork.

She added that if the meat was undercooked and used for pig feed, it would be pbaded on to them.

"We know that the African swine fever virus is heat resistant. Yes [villagers] can not cook contaminated meat at a constant temperature of 70 ° C for 30 minutes, the virus will remain in the meat and, when the food is used to feed the pigs, the virus will spread, "she told through an interpreter.

African swine fever was also clinging to household items, such as socks and clothes, which had touched infected pigs and spread to other pigs, she said. declared.

The president of the Cambodia Livestock Raisers Association (CLRA), Srun Pov, said that the number of members has risen to more than 4,000 and included hog farmers ranging from families to large farms.

He said the main concern was that pork farmer families do not know clearly how to prevent the spread of African swine fever.

"Small farmers get rice from the market without considering the possible consequences. They are frequently invited to attend workshops. However, they do not tend to go very often. This worries the badociation. "

"The presence of large farmers would help a lot, because they could provide disinfectants to smaller farms," ​​he said.

Phannara said the ministry was buying pigs from areas affected by an epidemic to eliminate them and prevent the spread of the virus in other provinces.

The FAO representative in Cambodia, Alexandre Huynh, said the organization would provide technical support, funding and coordination to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to fight the problem. spread of the disease.

"We received a request from the Ministry of Agriculture, [Forestry and Fisheries] to help coordinate and support action adapted to African swine fever. "

"The directors of the Animal Health and Animal Production Bureau and FAO are also working together to fight the disease," he said.

https://phnompenhpost.com/national/concerns-over-swine-fever-outbreak

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