Phong Coc ward was established on the basis of merging 4 administrative units, including Nam Hoa ward, Yen Hai ward, Phong Coc ward and Cam La commune (old Quang Yen town).
This is one of 14 localities in Quang Ninh province where African swine fever is occurring.
On July 12, 2025, a herd of 10 pigs of a household in Nam Hoa 3 showed symptoms of fever, rash, suspected infection with African swine fever.
Upon receiving the information, the People's Committee of Phong Coc Ward contacted and coordinated with the Provincial Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine to collect samples for testing, deploy the work of disinfecting and destroying pigs according to regulations.
After that, the epidemic continued to appear in another household. A total of 18 pigs, equivalent to 695 kg of meat, were destroyed to prevent the epidemic from spreading.
Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong - Deputy Head of the Economic - Infrastructure and Urban Affairs Department of Phong Coc Ward - said: "We have had experience in preventing African swine fever in previous years, at times more than 20 herds with more than 300 pigs were infected with the disease. This epidemic only appeared in 2 households, but also faced difficulties in disease prevention due to a lack of grassroots veterinary staff.
"Before July 1, 2025, each ward and commune will have 1 part-time veterinary staff. However, after implementing the two-level local government, the officials have quit their jobs according to Decree No. 154/2025/ND-CP dated June 15, 2025. Therefore, the ward currently has no grassroots veterinary staff."
To temporarily overcome the situation, the People's Committee of the ward mobilized a veterinarian who had quit his job to support epidemic prevention work, and mobilized associations and unions to participate.
The Department of Agriculture and Environment has also implemented many solutions to remove difficulties in animal disease prevention and control after implementing two-level local governance such as: Launching the Dysentery Peak Month in the whole province; assigning 28 officers in the livestock and veterinary sector of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center to take charge of the area to support communes, wards, and special zones in checking, detecting and handling outbreaks.
From July 14 to August 12, 2025, African swine fever has appeared in 218 households/65 villages and areas, belonging to 14 communes, wards and special zones with a total of 3,748 dead or destroyed pigs, equivalent to 171,927 kg of meat.
Ms. Chu Thi Thu Thuy - Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine of Quang Ninh province - said: In communes, wards, and special zones, after implementing the two-level local government, a part of the veterinary staff and veterinary collaborators ( part-time workers in communes) have quit their jobs according to the regime (Decree No. 154/2025/ND-CP dated June 15, 2025), so there are currently no animal husbandry and veterinary staff at the commune level, so there are difficulties in monitoring and implementing disease prevention and control measures at the grassroots level.
The Department has reported and requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the Ministry of Home Affairs to guide localities to improve the grassroots veterinary network and have specific support policies to help this force stabilize and feel secure in participating in animal disease prevention.
