Breaking the African Swine Fever Impasse in Vietnam: Chengzhu’s Harmless Treatment

When African swine fever swept through 28 provinces and cities in Vietnam, forcing the culling of over 100,000 pigs, and with dead pigs floating on rivers polluting water sources and diseased pork ending up on dinner tables through the black market, this seemingly virus-induced industry crisis actually pointed to a long-standing and fatal weakness in the livestock industry—the complete collapse of the system for the harmless disposal of diseased and dead livestock. For Chengzhu Group, deeply rooted in this field, the uncontrolled outbreak in Vietnam serves as a profound warning to the global livestock industry and further confirms the core value of professional harmless disposal in disease prevention and control, providing a crucial answer for the industry to break through the current predicament.

The core problem of the out-of-control epidemic: the lack of harmlessness triggered a chain crisis

The escalation of the African swine fever epidemic in Vietnam, from 30,000 to 100,000 pigs, was by no means the result of a single-handed outbreak. Smallholder farmers’ reckless dumping of dead pigs into canals and reservoirs became a major driver of the virus’s spread. These untreated carcasses not only contaminated key water sources like the N2 Canal in Nghe An Province and the Bac Canal in Thanh Hoa Province, but also allowed the virus to survive for 21 days in the hot and humid environment, spreading to more farms through flooding and transportation.

Even more serious, some farmers, to avoid disposal costs, resell dead pigs to illegal slaughterhouses, creating a vicious cycle of “spread of the epidemic—illegal trade—and secondary infection.” Data shows that 70% of outbreaks in Vietnam are concentrated in small, unvaccinated pig farms, and 60% of free-range farmers fail to implement any biosafety measures, including standardized disposal of dead livestock. Coupled with the collapse of grassroots epidemic prevention systems and a shortage of veterinary personnel, which has led to 40% of early cases being underreported, harmless disposal, which should be the “last line of defense,” has become ineffective due to lack of awareness, cost concerns, and a lack of oversight, ultimately allowing localized outbreaks to spiral out of control.

The key to breaking the deadlock: Honest casting harmless treatment builds a three-dimensional epidemic prevention barrier

The stubborn nature of the African swine fever virus means that vaccination and slaughter supervision alone are insufficient to eradicate the hidden dangers. The virus can survive and spread for a long time through dead pigs and contaminants. Standardized harmless disposal is the key to severing the chain of transmission. Chengzhu’s customized solutions are building a solid defense line from three dimensions:

Source blocking: technological innovation eliminates virus residues

Traditional incineration easily produces toxic fumes, and landfilling easily contaminates soil and groundwater, both of which are unavoidable secondary transmission. Chengzhu abandons these traditional methods and employs high-temperature, high-pressure, precision processing technology, sending dead pigs through specialized steaming equipment to ensure complete virus inactivation without any residue. For swine fever emergencies, mobile and small units can be used on-site, completely eliminating the risk of spread during transportation and curbing contamination at its source.

Precise adaptation: solving the pain points of farming at different scales

To address the challenges of high disposal costs and cumbersome processes faced by small and medium-sized livestock farmers, Chengzhu has launched a small livestock and poultry harmless disposal unit. Each unit can process 0.5-5 tons of dead livestock and poultry, enabling rapid adaptation without reconfiguring the farming environment. Chengzhu also offers customized solutions for large-scale livestock operations. By precisely matching the needs of different farming scales, it makes standardized disposal a viable option for all breeders, fundamentally reducing illegal practices such as dumping and reselling carcasses.

Full-chain collaboration: achieving dual value of epidemic prevention and economic development

Chengzhu’s solution not only meets the compliance requirements of the livestock sector but also seamlessly integrates with the regulatory authorities’ full-process traceability system, providing real-time traceable data support for epidemic prevention throughout the entire “breeding-to-slaughter” chain, in line with the EU’s “pest-free community” closed-loop risk management requirements. More importantly, the processed meat and bone meal can be sold as high-quality organic fertilizer, and the refined oil can be marketed as a biofuel feedstock. This resource reuse helps livestock producers reduce disease losses, achieving the dual goals of “effective epidemic prevention and controllable losses.”

Epidemic prevention is no small matter: the “last mile” cannot be lost

The painful lessons of the African swine fever outbreak in Vietnam demonstrate that when the “invisible line of defense” of safe disposal is breached, even the most advanced vaccines and stringent regulations are unable to prevent the spread of the virus. For the global livestock industry, establishing a standardized system for safe disposal of dead livestock and poultry is not only an urgent need to address epidemics like African swine fever, but also a key component in rebuilding the food safety system.

Chengzhu firmly believes that professional harmless disposal is not a “cost burden,” but a “safe investment” for the sustainable development of the aquaculture industry. Going forward, we will continue to prioritize technological innovation, providing reliable solutions to more aquaculture companies and regional epidemic prevention departments, building a solid “last line of defense” for disease prevention and control, and safeguarding the healthy development of the aquaculture industry and the bottom line of food safety.