A quick report from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Veterinary and Fisheries, Department of Agriculture and Environment of Phu Tho province, from July 1 to now, African swine fever has appeared in 27 villages, 128 households, 11 communes (Yen Thuy, Yen Tri, Cao Son, Mai Chau, Pa Co, Kim Boi, Hop Kim, Cao Duong, Thung Nai, Tien Phong, Lac Son); with the total number of sick and dead pigs that had to be destroyed being 538. Currently, there are 8 outbreaks that have not passed 21 days.
Currently, the African swine fever virus has spread widely in localities, while small-scale livestock farming facilities do not meet biosafety farming conditions, leading to a very high risk of spreading in the area. Some communes at risk of epidemics include: Muong Hoa, Yen Phu, Phu Minh.
To proactively prevent and control African swine fever, the Department of Animal Husbandry, Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries of Phu Tho province has established a Working Group to inspect and verify the epidemic; guide localities to implement epidemic prevention and control measures. At the same time, proactively coordinate with localities to support taking samples to send for disease testing when receiving information about sick or dead pigs.
Along with that, proactively monitor households to detect early, comply with sampling to accurately determine African swine fever; promptly warn and handle it thoroughly as soon as the disease is detected; strictly handle cases of not reporting the disease, slaughtering, dumping sick pigs, suspected of having the disease into the environment leading to the disease spreading.
The motto is that wherever an epidemic occurs, it must be thoroughly handled according to regulations; announce the epidemic according to the provisions of the Veterinary Law (if qualified) to mobilize local resources and human resources to contain the epidemic, not allowing the epidemic to spread widely...
Functional units set up temporary animal quarantine posts, or establish mobile anti-epidemic teams to strictly control the slaughter of pigs, consumption of pork and pork products, and not allow the transportation of pigs and pork products into and out of the epidemic area.
Stop vehicles to carry out cleaning and disinfection for vehicles traveling from the epidemic area to the outside; organize the destruction of all dead pigs and sick pigs in the outbreak according to regulations (seelect the location of burial, regulate the burial pit, use chemicals or lime to kill pests, clean the environment...); establish a destruction record according to regulations...
On July 11, at Km 27+900m of Hoa Lac - Hoa Binh road in Ky Son ward, Phu Tho province, the working group of the Road Traffic Police Team No. 4 - Phu Tho Provincial Traffic Police Department stopped and inspected a truck driven by Mr. Pham Dinh Duan (born in 1983), residing in Nam Tien hamlet, Dong Thanh commune, Nghe An province, transporting livestock (a quantity of 190 pigs) in the direction of Son La - Hanoi.
During the inspection, the driver could not present any animal quarantine certificates, origin records, transportation licenses, or vaccination monitoring books. Rapid testing for results: 190 pigs tested positive for African cholera. The working group handed over the people, vehicles and pigs affected by the epidemic to competent authorities for punishment and handling in accordance with the law.
Previously, on July 9, 2025, the Tam Duong Bac Commune Police Working Group, Phu Tho Province, in coordination with veterinary and quarantine officers, discovered and prevented a truck transporting pigs of unknown origin without an animal quarantine certificate as prescribed.
BSCKI Le Van Thieu, Department of General Infections, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases warned that the risk from sick pork is not only limited to bacteria but also related to toxins, high temperatures cannot be completely destroyed. Sick pigs are often infected with many types of bacteria, parasites and viruses. When humans consume meat from sick or disease-dead animals, the risk of food poisoning and infectious diseases is very high.
Bacteria such as Salmonella, E.coli or Listeria can exist in sick pork, causing symptoms of digestive disorders such as acute diarrhea, vomiting and high fever. In groups of people with weak resistance such as children, the elderly and pregnant women, the risk of serious complications is even higher.
In particular, some viruses such as the pig flu virus or African swine fever, streptococcus, although not transmitted directly through the digestive tract, the risk of indirect transmission through contact during processing is also very worrying if the processor does not comply with safety measures.
The most worrying thing is the toxin generated from the decomposition of the sick pigs. Toxins such as histamine, endotoxin (bacteria's endocrinos) and mycotoxin (finger-growing toxins) are likely to survive sustainably even in high temperatures. This means that cooking pork at 100 degrees Celsius still cannot completely destroy these toxins.
Not only stopping at acute manifestations, prolonged exposure to small amounts of toxins accumulated in the body can also lead to chronic damage to the liver, kidneys, and immune system. Many studies have also shown a link between food toxins and the risk of causing cancer.
In particular, meat containing toxins or that has begun to decompose may not be clearly expressed through color or flavor. This can easily make consumers subjective when choosing foods, accidentally adding potential dangers to family meals.
