270,000 pigs in Vietnam with Blue Ear Disease

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), otherwise known as "blue ear" disease, has hit 270,000 pigs in Vietnam, since late March, according to local newspaper Vietnam Economic Times. The figure amounts to one percent of the country's pig population.

The country's Department of Animal Health has reported that the Northern Thanh Hoa province has suffered the biggest loss with nearly 200,000 affected pigs, accounting for nearly 15 percent of the province's pig population.

10 Provinces
PRRS is now spreading across 10 Vietnamese provinces, including Thanh Hoa, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh in the northern region, and Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Lam Dong and Thua Thien Huein the central region, and Vinh Long in the south.

PRRS was first recognized in the United States in the mid-1980s and is now present in most pig producing countries. The symptoms include reproductive failure, pneumonia and increased susceptibility to secondary bacterial infection.

Related website
â€¢ Vietnam Economic Times
â€¢ Department of Animal Health

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