African swine fever (ASF) has affected two communes of Da Nang City in central Vietnam, a local official confirmed on Thursday.

The outbreaks were detected in Hoa Ninh and Hoa Phong Communes under Hoa Vang District, said Phan Duy Anh, vice-chairman of the district administration.

Local authorities earlier had inspected a pig farm owned by Huynh Van Huyn in Hoa Ninh, where 10 out of the 36 hogs developed symptoms such as a loss of appetite and hemorrhages in the eyes.

After two of these pigs died on July 30, the local agriculture authority took samples of them for testing, with the results showing that they tested positive for ASF.

In Hoa Phong, one pig in a farm run by Thi Thi De also tested positive for the contagious disease after it died on August 5 with unknown cause of death.

Pig deaths were again reported at another farm in the same village in Hoa Phong on August 6.

To avert the disease from spreading further, local authorities had swiftly adopted response measures, including culling pigs with confirmed or probable ASF; stopping the slaughter and transport of pigs and pork products to and from the affected areas; sterilizing the ASF-hit locations and the surroundings; and setting up ASF quarantine checkpoints.

The local official added that other communes, namely Hoa Phu, Hoa Son, Hoa Khuong, Hoa Tien, Hoa Nhon, and Hoa Lien, are at a risk of being hit by ASF.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!