Hanoi reports foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in pigs

Local reports say 261 pigs belonging to 19 households in six communes of the rural district have been affected by the disease.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Department of Animal Health has asked provincial authorities to kill the affected pigs.

Local veterinary units have initiated vaccinations of cattle in the area and disinfected the infected farms with chemicals and lime powder in an effort to control the spread of the disease.

The health ministry Friday reported six food and mouth disease outbreaks nationwide. All of them were in Ba Vi District, two and a half hours from Hanoi downtown.

That the cattle were not vaccinated against foot and mouth disease is the main reason for the outbreak, health officials said.