Bago region stands the third to which the blue ear disease spread after the second largest city of Mandalay in March and the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw in April.

As part of biosecurity measure, the authorities have blocked pigs from being transported to Yangon region from Bago's for sale following the discovery, said the Popular News.

Vehicles carrying pigs from the Bago region are stopped and sent back by the authorities at the terminal bordering Yangon's Hlegu and Taikkyi with Bago region.

PRRS was first reported in Mandalay in early March when over 500 heads of pig died of the disease. The 500 pigs were among the 2,000 bred in 200 poultry farms in five townships in Mandalay, according to the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department.

Some pigs in poultry farms in two townships in Nay Pyi Taw - Zeyarthiri and Popathiri - were later found also dying of PRRS disease.

Experts of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are carrying out test for PRRS disease and vaccine for PRRS will be produced domestically for the disease prevention, according to the department.

So far, the disease, detected from the dead pigs, has not spread to other animals or human but infect other pigs, it said.

There is a total of 9.3 million pigs in the country and about 100,000 pigs are in Nay Pyi Taw.

The blue ear disease was the second that spread in Myanmar so far this year after avian influenza (H5N1) which struck Sittway, western Rakhine state and Tantsle township, northwestern Sagaing region in the first two months of this year respectively and thousands of chickens, suspected of carrying virulent avian influenza, were wiped out following the discovery of their unusual death.

Myanmar was first struck by bird flu H5N1 in 2006.

Further Reading

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Find out more information on PRRS by clicking here.