HANOI, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) has recently stricken Vietnam's central Nghe An province, raising the total number of affected localities in the country to four.

    The disease has hit 208 pigs in Dien Chau district, local newspaper Youth on Monday quoted the provincial Veterinary Bureau as reporting.

    The bureau has intensified surveillance on pig transport and disinfected farms to prevent the disease's spread.

    Earlier, PRRS hit northern Thanh Hoa province and the two central provinces of Ha Tinh and Quang Nam, according to the Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

    PRRS was first recognized in the United States in the mid-1980sand is now present in most pig producing countries. The symptoms include reproductive failure, pneumonia and increased susceptibility to secondary bacterial infection.