Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City has been stricken by foot-and-mouth disease in the last few days, according to local newspaper Vietnam Economic Times on Tuesday.

The disease broke out in Binh Chanh district, affecting a number of pigs. The city's Veterinary Bureau has detoxicated affected farms, and vaccinated healthy cattle against the disease.

However, the Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has yet to announce outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in Ho Chi Minh City.

Now, the disease has hit 23 communes in 14 districts in eight provinces and one city, affecting 655 bulls and buffaloes as well as 1,724 pigs, said the department.

Under a national agriculture development plan approved by the government in 2005, Vietnam will, by 2010, have 35-40 million pigs, 6.5-6.7 million bulls and cows, 2.8-3 million buffaloes, and 380- 390 million poultry.

Source: Xinhua