HBO – Hoa Binh province is doing its utmost to eliminate foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on livestock. To date, the FMD epidemic has been going on for more than 1 month, appearing in seven out of 11 localities in the province including: Hoa Binh city, Luong Son, Kim Boi, Tan Lac, Lac Thuy, Lac Son and Yen Thuy districts. Disease outbreaks have great impacts on livestock production, food safety and public health in the province.
Veterinarians in Lien Vu commune (Lac
Son district) give shots of FMD vaccine to pigs in Chay village.
According
to a report of the local agriculture and rural development sector, besides the
4 localities that have yet to detect the disease, namely Ky Son, Cao Phong, Da
Bac and Mai Chau, there are three localities, namely Luong Son, Kim Boi and Hoa
Binh city, detecting no new outbreaks after 21 days. New outbreaks are reported
in four localities (Tan Lac, Yen Thuy, Lac Thuy and Lac Son) affecting nearly
3,000 pigs, of which 634 died. According to the animal husbandry and veterinary
medicine section, the main cause of FMD outbreaks in the localities is that
local farmers have not had their pigs vaccinated for a long time. The FMD
vaccination has only been carried out on cows and buffaloes through FMD control
programs on big cattle.
Another
reason is the mechanism of spreading outbreaks. FMD is classified into the
first group of diseases in the international quarantine list, as it causes a
high mortality rate in piglets, heifers and calves. For mature animals, they
can recover after about 2 weeks if being treated well, but the rapid spread of
the disease causes huge economic losses.
The
agriculture and rural development sector is working with localities where the
disease occurs to implement urgent measures to stop the disease, and prevent it
from spreading widely. Seven affected districts and city have allocated 2.1
billion VND from their standby budgets to buy 101,300 doses of vaccine for
epidemic prevention. The animal husbandry and veterinary medicine section regularly
checks and urges the implementation of measures to localise and stamp out FMD
outbreaks, while providing instructions along with tools and human resources to
affected areas to implement anti-epidemic works effectively.
Vuong
Dac Hung, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural
Development, said that the province aims to stamp out all FMD outbreaks and
eliminate the disease by January 25.
Creating jobs for labourers in general and young people in particular is currently a focus of the province, with vocational training linked to job creation considered one of the strategic breakthrough solutions.
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Nguyen Thi Nu, a resident of Thach Ly sub-area in Da Bac township of Da Bac district, has been popular in the area as a simple woman that is rich in compassion. For nearly 10 years, she has spread her kindness through many charity activities to ease difficulties for the needy.
Voluntary blood donation (HMTN) is a noble and humane gesture. 24 years ago, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 43/2000/QD-TTg on mobilizing and encouraging Voluntary blood donation and designated April 7 every year as "All-People Voluntary blood donation Day”. This is an important milestone in the movement of voluntary blood donation, creating a strong change in the awareness and action at all levels of the government and people from all walks of life.
Yen Thuy is aiming to become a new-style rural district by 2025. To achieve this goal, the district has been mobilising the entire political system and local people to early fulfil required criteria.
From a normal bamboo tree, Nguyen Van Nam in Yen Tri commune, Yen Thuy district has transformed it into a "bamboo dragon". His works have been present in many countries.