Working as a commune veterinary officer requires me to visit villages regularly to vaccinate buffaloes, cows and pigs. When vaccinations were not available for cattle, many of them died from disease.
Before entering the cattle shed, people need to disinfect themselves. Pigs, buffaloes and cows must be vaccinated against foot and mouth disease, and pigs against cholera. Vaccines of hemorrhagic septicemia and lumpy skin disease are also available for cattle. Vaccines against foot and mouth disease and hemorrhagic septicemia have been subsidised by the government in the last years but lumpy skin vaccination is charged for. The labour cost of injecting is 4,600 dong (23 cents) per shot of foot and mouth vaccine and the same per shot of hemorrhagic septicemia or lumpy skin vaccine.
Veterinary workers are working on a part-time basis, earning only one million dong (40 US dollars) a month, but the workload is heavy. During an epidemic, we have to work long days without rest.
After returning home from vaccinating, I must record the total number of cattle in each household and how many shots they had. In doing so, when buffaloes and cows get sick, I know which animals in these households were vaccinated. The owners of vaccinated animals that are slaughtered because of the disease will receive compensation from the government equal to 50% of the animal’s value. Households who are not willing to vaccinate their animals must dispose of the sick ones at their own expense.
When vaccinating against dangerous diseases such as foot and mouth disease, protective equipment must be worn. It is also mandatory to wear protective equipment while disposing of dead animals.
Currently, people do not understand the consequences of diseases. Some people only get their animals vaccinated when they get sick. Travelling is difficult and there is no electricity and refrigerators to store vaccines in remote areas. In addition, the cattle are let loose to roam by households. It is difficult to catch them for vaccination.
In the uplands, we have to visit the fields to vaccinate the cattle of households while the farmers say, "There's nothing wrong with the cows. Will you pay for it if it is dead because of vaccination?"
Narrators: Lò Văn Cươi (Thai ethnicity) and Lường Thị Thu (Thai ethnicity, 37 years old)
Photographer: Lò Thị Ánh Tuyết (Thai ethnicity, 14 years old)
Persons in the photo: Lò Văn Cươi (Thai ethnicity)