Bird flu looms after first outbreak hits central Vietnam
The Vietnamese Health Ministry has warned against nationwide recurrence of bird flu after an epidemic zone was discovered in central Vietnam, the first detected in more than a month.
With a major flock of ducks found with the H5 virus in Nghe An province last week, Vietnam has sounded an alert for the return of bird flu, the ministry?s Veterinary Bureau stressed Sunday.
Hoang Van Nam, vice head of the bureau, said the epidemic was likely to recur on a small scale in flocks of fowl that have yet to be inoculated.
But he reassured that all scattered epidemic zones would be contained.
All bird flu-prone Vietnamese provinces and cities should bolster vaccination campaigns and beef up controls on waterfowl hatching, the bureau said.
To date, all 610 infected ducks have been completely culled in Nghe An?s Dien Tho commune after the outbreak had been detected early this month.
The affected commune has also been quarantined and disinfected.
Further tests would be underway to ascertain whether the flock caught the deadly H5N1 strain, local health officials said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said last month the US and Japan would provide Vietnam and five other developing countries with financial aid totaling $2.5 million to combat the deadly pandemic.
The United Nations health agency also urged Vietnam to expedite poultry inoculation and target more ducks in its anti-bird flu campaign.
Vietnam has recorded no human fatalities since November 2005.
The Vietnamese Health Ministry has warned against nationwide recurrence of bird flu after an epidemic zone was discovered in central Vietnam, the first detected in more than a month.
With a major flock of ducks found with the H5 virus in Nghe An province last week, Vietnam has sounded an alert for the return of bird flu, the ministry?s Veterinary Bureau stressed Sunday.
Hoang Van Nam, vice head of the bureau, said the epidemic was likely to recur on a small scale in flocks of fowl that have yet to be inoculated.
But he reassured that all scattered epidemic zones would be contained.
All bird flu-prone Vietnamese provinces and cities should bolster vaccination campaigns and beef up controls on waterfowl hatching, the bureau said.
To date, all 610 infected ducks have been completely culled in Nghe An?s Dien Tho commune after the outbreak had been detected early this month.
The affected commune has also been quarantined and disinfected.
Further tests would be underway to ascertain whether the flock caught the deadly H5N1 strain, local health officials said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said last month the US and Japan would provide Vietnam and five other developing countries with financial aid totaling $2.5 million to combat the deadly pandemic.
The United Nations health agency also urged Vietnam to expedite poultry inoculation and target more ducks in its anti-bird flu campaign.
Vietnam has recorded no human fatalities since November 2005.