ASF detected in Tbong Khmum
THE Ministr y of Agriculture, Forestr y and Fisheries has announced a f urt her outbrea k of African swine fever i n the Kingdom, this time in O’Reang-ou district’s Mien commune i n Tbong Khmum prov ince, after t hree pigs died t here late last month.
Meanwhile, the Takeo provincial Department of Agriculture said several pigs had died in Angkor Borei district but the reason remained as yet unknown.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Minister of Agriculture, Forestr y and Fisheries Veng Sak hon said he had a llowed the General Directorate of Animal Health and Production to cull pigs and to prohibit the trade and transport of pigs and pork within 3k m of the affected areas.
In addition, he said the movement of pigs and pork was to be monitored in a 10km radius of those areas.
Sakhon made the announcement after the General Directorate of Animal Health and Production said that 19 pigs had fallen ill and three sows had died on June 23 in Mien commune, out of a total of 568 pigs that were being raised in a family operation.
The directorate said the sows that died had run a high fever and suffered miscarriages and could not be saved.
After their blood was tested at the Institute of Animal Health and Production, the results confirmed they had developed African swine fever.
General Directorate of Animal Health and Production director-general Tan Phannara said Tbong Khmum is the most active province bordering Vietnam for the secret importing of pigs.
The provincial Veterinary Department said the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries had instructed local resi
dents to stop importing pigs from Vietnam in March.
Since then, some 30 cases have been busted in Tbong Khmum province, with almost 700 pigs seized.
Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries director Heng Piseth told The Post on Tuesday that until this recent outbreak, no other pigs had died in the province.
“There is no information of further pig deaths. Let’s wait to see and monitor regularly to see whether or not [more] pigs die. We sprayed disinfectant on June 28 but there weren’t any dead pigs,” Piseth said.
African swine fever was first detected in Cambodia after pigs began dying on March 22 in Ratanakkiri province’s O’Yadav district. It subsequently spread to O’Chum district.
After that, the Ratanakkiri provincial Department of Agriculture said more than 1,300 pigs had been slaughtered and there had been no further outbreaks since April.
There is now suspicion of a further outbreak in Takeo province after an official said that several pigs in Angkor Borei district had died and blood samples had been taken to be tested at the Institute of Animal Health and Production.
Takeo prov incia l Department of Agriculture director Nhib Sron said on Tuesday t hat severa l pigs died last week in more than one location in the province. At one place, he said, up to 10 pigs had died.
But he said pigs had not been illegally imported into Takeo province from Vietnam even once since the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries had taken measures to educate farmers and residents.
“The deaths are due to illness. We have drawn blood to test but the results have not come back yet,” he said.