Dozens of pigs in two southern Vietnamese provinces have recently died suspectedly of foot-and- mouth disease, local newspaper Youth reported Wednesday.

The Veterinary Bureau of Long An province confirmed that some 10 pigs died mysteriously in Ben Luc district, while local residents of Tien Giang province reported dozens of pig deaths in Cho Gao district over the past few days.

Seeing their pigs fall ill and then die, some local breeders in the two districts are trying to sell their pigs to private traders at low prices. A 50-kg pig is sold for only 100,000 Vietnamese dong (6.2 U.S. dollars), the report said.

If pigs in the two provinces are infected with foot-and-mouth disease, they must be culled, while affected areas should be isolated and handled properly, said Bui Quang Anh in the Department of Animal Health under Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Specimens from infected pigs will be tested quickly, he said.

Foot-and-mouth disease has stricken some central and southern provinces since late 2003, according to the department.

Source: Xinhua