Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development confirmed that foot-and-mouth disease has hit two Vietnamese provinces, Xinhua quoted local newspaper The Youth as reporting today. The disease has broken out in southern Long An Province and the Central highlands province of Kon Tum, according to the ministry. Seventy-three cows in southern Long An Province has contracted the deadly disease, local animal health authority said. In Kon Tum Province, two districts reported foot-and-mouth disease cases. The foot-and-mouth disease in livestock hit 14 Vietnamese provinces in 2008, affecting more than 2,400 bulls and buffaloes. The ministry vows to speed up information campaigns, restructure poultry trading, and raise hygiene standards in slaughter houses this year.
