HANOI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), commonly known as blue-ear disease, has recently stricken a number of pigs in Vietnam's southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province and central Binh Dinh province, according to local newspaper People's Army report Wednesday.

    Specimens from 40 pigs in Dat Do district in Ba Ria Vung Tau and some of the animals in the two districts of Phu Cat and Tuy Phuoc in Binh Dinh have been tested positive to PRRS, the paper quoted Bui Quang Anh, head of the Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

    Local veterinary agencies are intensifying the culling of infected pigs to prevent the disease from spreading.

    Now, the disease is hitting four Vietnamese provinces, namely Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh in the central region, and Ba Ria Vung Tau.

    PRRS is characterized by reproductive failure of sows and respiratory problems of piglets and growing pigs. It occurs in most major pig-producing areas throughout the world.

    The reproductive failure is characterized by infertility, late fetal mummification, abortions, stillbirths, and the birth of weak piglets that often die soon after birth from respiratory disease and secondary infections, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.