Woman found buying dead pigs infected with African swine fever to sell in market

Nguyen Thi Hanh also failed to furnish a license to do business, invoices or other documents proving the origin of the pigs.

She admitted the animals were purchased from various sources and had no clear origins.

Market regulators and veterinary authorities collected blood samples from the animals and found them infected with African swine fever.

All the infected pigs will be culled.

Sick pigs seized by market regulators in Gia Lai Province, Aug. 7, 2025. Photo by Nguyen Chon

African swine fever, so called because it began from the continent, spreads quickly and is almost always deadly for pigs.

The virus is found in the blood, organs and waste of infected animals, is very tough and able to survive in cold temperatures and only die at 70 degrees Celsius.

The disease spreads through the air or by eating contaminated food, and pigs can get infected by direct contact with sick animals or contaminated materials.

While it does not affect humans, people can still spread the virus by carrying it on their person or equipment.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, this year the disease has been reported at 972 sites in 33 of Vietnam's 34 provinces and cities, resulting in the death or culling of over 100,000 pigs.

Currently 542 communes in 30 provinces and cities remain within the 21-day monitoring period following their latest outbreak.

Though the number of infected, dead and culled pigs has decreased by 34% from the same period last year, the department of livestock production and veterinary medicine warns that the incidence of the disease is rising.