But neighbors in Tan Xuan Commune are petrified of the large leeches that constantly escape from the house of Duong Kim Anh, who has been in the trade for two years.

Tuoi Tre correspondent contacted Vuong, who buys leeches in the southern province of Tay Ninh to sell to Kim Anh, offering to sell some to him.

Vuong was willing to buy whatever quantity was available, and offered VND80,000 (US$3.9) for a kilogram.

He said since demand for leeches had been rising recently – he was getting orders for 300 kilograms at a time -- he had dozens of men hunting for them. He sells them at more than double the price to Anh, who freezes the creatures and transports them to China.

Kim Anh was out when Tuoi Tre went to her house to offer to sell some.

Her mother said: “Remember the worms must be alive. I will pay VND150,000 for a kilogram.”

She also gave tips on how to keep the leeches alive during transportation.

“You should store them in double-layered cloth bags since they cannot survive being stored in plastic bags,” she says.

Two young men arrived on a bike, carrying four large sacks. They cut them open, revealing a swarm of finger-sized leeches.

“Good supply for today,” Ha said happily.

“There are 206 kilograms, so you will receive VND30 million.”

Ha said she had been buying dried leeches at VND1.5 million ($72) a kilogram, but her partners only wanted fresh ones now.

“I buy the worms, have them frozen, and sell to the Chinese traders,” she said, admitting she had no idea why they bought them. Leeches are known to be used in traditional Chinese medicine to help prevent clotting.

She hires two workers at VND100,000 a day to clean the worms.

The workers soak the leeches in ice water to have the mucus released, wash them, and put them by hand in trays.

Finally, they put the trays in two large fridges.

Le, one of the two, said he had repeatedly been bitten by the leeches.

“It really hurts. But I am used to it and no longer scared.”

Your correspondent went back later to meet Kim Anh.

Two men were carrying leeches in trays to a truck outside.

“[The truck] will depart tonight, carrying nearly one ton of leech,” Quang, one of the men, said.

Staffs are washing a package of leeches before freezing them for selling to China (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Neighbors fearful

Anh’s neighbors said she had been doing the business for two years but seemed to be much busier in the last three months.

Her workers freely released the bloodsucking worms into the surroundings, they complained.

During the washing process, many leeches managed to escape but the workers did not bother, they alleged.

Picking on leeches clinging on his hands, Quang used a water pump to wash hundreds of leeches on the floor into the flooded area around the house.

Neighbors have warned their children never to go near the flooded area.

Phuc, a local resident, took Tuoi Tre correspondent to a submerged area 30 meters from Anh’s house, dipped a tree branch into the water, and pulled it out. It was swarming with leeches.

“Recently, an old man from another hamlet stepped into the water and had dozens of leeches clinging to his leg,” he said.

Thang, another neighbor, said his family was constantly shocked to see leeches come out of the bathroom drainage and infest the house.

“The leeches have become an obsession for our family,” he said.

Thanh, who lives opposite Thang, said when Ha had been selling dried leeches, she would lay a plastic sheet on the street and dry the worms there.

“Every afternoon she would pick up those that did not look good and casually toss them around,” he said.

Hiep, head of a local living quarter, said the rice fields there have never been so full of leeches like now.

“I am planning to mobilize other people to complain to the authorities.

“Meanwhile, we should use lime to kill the leeches while waiting for official action.”

Source : Tuoi Tre News