Buffaloes die, farmers fall into difficult situations
The family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Bien (59 years old, residing in Mai Son village, Ba Long commune, Dakrong district, Quang Tri province) has 11 buffaloes raised with the buffaloes of 6 other households in the same commune.
For a long time, every bean planting season, buffaloes were herded into the forest area in Trieu Ai commune (Trieu Phong district, Quang Tri province) to graze. Every week, households would take turns checking on the buffaloes. The buffaloes were grazed in the forest, finding their own food, but each one was fat and healthy, growing more and more, and the herd numbered up to 47.
However, on February 1 (the 4th day of the Lunar New Year 2025), Ms. Bien received information that many buffaloes in the herd died of unknown causes in the forest area of Trieu Ai commune. In 15 years of raising buffaloes, Ms. Bien had never seen dead buffaloes lying around, so when she arrived at the scene, she was very surprised.
“My family has 11 buffaloes, but 6 died, each worth 15 to 20 million VND. I plan to sell about 3 this year to pay off the bank loan and send my children to school. Now that half of the buffaloes have died, it means the family will fall into difficult circumstances,” Ms. Bien shared.
Mr. Tran Duc Loi (45 years old, residing in Na Nam village, Trieu Nguyen commune, Dakrong district) said that on January 28, when he went to check, the buffalo herd showed no unusual signs. On the afternoon of February 1, he went to check and discovered 20 dead buffaloes, of which Mr. Loi's family had 8 dead buffaloes.
The dead buffaloes have been destroyed. The remaining buffaloes in the herd of 47 households that have been eating little and cannot walk on their hind legs have been isolated and injected with antibiotics and vaccines to prevent disease.
People are not supported
According to the Dakrong District People's Committee, 34 buffaloes and 1 cow were found dead in the area. Upon discovering the dead buffaloes and cows, the locality coordinated with veterinary agencies to implement preventive measures.
Mr. Le Dai Loi - Vice Chairman of Dakrong District People's Committee said that he has strengthened propaganda and mobilized households not to graze buffaloes and cows, but to bring them to barns for monitoring.
Faced with the mass deaths of buffalo and cows in Dakrong district, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Tri province requested specialized agencies to collect samples of dead buffalo and cows to find the cause. From there, it was determined that the cause of the buffalo deaths was anthrax caused by the bacteria Pasteurella multocida. Some samples of dead buffalo also contained the parasite Babesia, which causes disease in buffalo and cows.
Mr. Nguyen Phu Quoc - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Tri province confirmed that 34 buffaloes and 1 cow died due to septicemia, causing heavy losses to farmers in Ba Long and Trieu Nguyen communes, but households did not receive any support. In cases where buffaloes and cows were infected with foot-and-mouth disease, lumpy skin disease, and had to be destroyed to prevent the epidemic, support was provided. "Septicemia is a common disease, not included in the national plan to control and eliminate dangerous diseases, so households are not supported according to regulations" - Mr. Nguyen Phu Quoc said.
