It is believed that the pigs had been dumped on the river bank the previous night. The owner, upon finding the pigs dead or dying, likely assumed the pigs were infected with the African swine fever virus and dumped the pigs before authorities could discover the outbreak.

After confirming the pigs were indeed infected with the virus, local authorities performed post-mortems then disposed of the carcasses following biosecurity protocol.

According to Ngoc Son's chairman Thai Van An, dead pigs continue to be dumped in the river despite authorities requesting that local producers report any sickness or death in their herds.

The first cases of ASF in Vietnam were confirmed in February 2019 and since then, around four million pigs are estimated to have been slaughtered as the disease has continued to spread.

Local producers in Vietnam are encouraged to alert authorities immediately upon detecting disease in their herd that could be ASF. In order to effectively control the disease and prevent further spread, producers and authorities must work closely together.