Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

[Treyfish]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Officials fear bird flu epidemic in Vietnam <!-- END HEADLINE -->
<!-- BEGIN STORY BODY -->2 hours, 12 minutes ago


HANOI (AFP) - The list of bird-flu hit areas in Vietnam has become longer with the latest outbreaks in two more northern provinces as officials said Wednesday they worry the deadly virus will not stop spreading. Ha Nam and Vinh Phuc provinces have reported a total of about 1,300 ducks had died of H5N1, while the rest of more than 7,200 bird flocks had been culled, according to the official website of the Hanoi-based animal health department.


So far, bird flu has hit mainly unvaccinated poultry in 12 provinces across Vietnam, mostly in the north.
"At present, the situation of the epidemic is very complicated. The risk is high for it to continue and spread on a larger scale," said Minister of Agriculture Cao Duc Phat in a message to local authorities.
He called for urgent measures to deal with the situation, including the launching of a communication campaign to raise people's awareness on the danger of bird flu to poultry flocks and to humans.
"It definitely shows to everyone that people must remain vigilant," said Dida Connor, the World Health Organisation's (WHO) spokeswoman in Hanoi.
However, WHO still believed the situation was "not alarming", she added.
Vietnam's first human bird flu patient in 18 months, a 30-year-old man from Vinh Phuc province, was improving, said a doctor from Hanoi's Bach Mai hospital where the patient is under treatment.
"He has got much much better," she said. "But I can not tell when he will be discharged."
Between 2003 and November 2005, Vietnam was one of countries worst hit by bird flu, with 42 deaths. The country, however, won international applause for its transparency and effectiveness in curbing the epidemic.:tiphat: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070530/hl_afp/healthfluvietnam

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Northern Quang Ninh province holds bird flu drill
30/05/2007 -- 11:43 AM
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Quang Ninh (VNA) ? The health department and clinics in northern border Quang Ninh province on May 29 joined China?s Guangxi province in holding a drill on the Viet Nam-China border to combat potential H5N1 outbreaks in humans.

The rehearsal focused on how to detect bird flu patients when crossing the border and followed a joint coordination mechanism between two countries? towns. This was in addition to measures planned by Quang Ninh?s clinics to deal with cases of bird flu in humans.

The participants at the drill set up isolation wards for bird flu patients, provided effective treatment and disinfected the surrounding environment.

The exercise, which drew experiences from international coordination in controlling the disease in localities, was aimed at enhancing the prevention of cross-border epidemics.

Since early 2007, the Quang Ninh Preventive Medicine Centre has worked with medical clinics in the province to beef up prevention and control of bird flu epidemic in humans. The Centre has provided training to 1,200 health workers from the communal level on supervision and sanitisation of affected areas plus treating infected patients.

All medical clinics at the district level have isolation wards which are capable of treating at least 20 bird flu patients. The Viet Nam-Sweden Hospital in Uong Bi and the provincial general hospital will also be ready to welcome bird flu patients.

Quang Ninh is among ten localities in the country that have been hit by bird flu this month.:tiphat: http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/198044/Default.aspx</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Minister orders provinces to step up bird flu fight
30/05/2007 -- 9:48 PM
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Ha Noi (VNA) ? Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat, on May 30, ordered cities and provinces throughout the country to take urgent measures to combat and contain the spread of bird flu.

In a dispatch he released the same day, the Minister who is also Director of the National Steering Committee for Avian Influenza Prevention and Control, requested that municipal and provincial People?s Committees, ministries and agencies give a top priority to supervising and speeding up disease prevention work at the local level.

It is necessary ?to launch a public awareness campaign to provide the public with ways to prevent avian influenza infections amongst poultry and humans,? the minister said.

He went on to urge localities to launch a month-long disinfectant campaign from June on and to strictly control the importation and transportation of poultry and poultry products.

According to a report released on May 30 by the Veterinary Department, there are now 12 bird flu plagued localities, with the northern provinces of Ha Nam and Vinh Phuc recording new outbreaks.

The remaining provinces to have fallen victim to the virus include Nghe An, Nam Dinh, Son La, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Dong Thap, Ninh Binh, Bac Ninh and the cities of Hai Phong and Can Tho:tiphat: </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/198175/Default.aspx

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Bird flu outbreaks spark new rounds quarantines, supervisions
31/05/2007 -- 10:06 PM
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Ha Noi (VNA) ? The Head of the National Steering Committee for Avian Influenza Prevention and Control on May 31 ordered all local committees to guide the supervision of rural farms and farming households in order to get a jump </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
on possible bird flu and flu type A (H5N1) outbreaks and transmissions.

Health officials have become alarmed at how the virus has been developing in Viet Nam recently. From early this month, the disease has been recorded in 21 communes/wards, 17 districts/towns of the nine provinces and cities of Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Quang Ninh, Son La, Bac Giang, Hai Phong, Ninh Binh, Can Tho and Dong Thap.Of greater concern to health workers were the reports of the first human case infected with the H5N1 virus since early 2006.

In order to deal with the worsening situation, the Prime Minister called on the Health Ministry and the Standing Committee of the National Steering Committee for Avian Influenza . Prevention and Control to dole out drastic measures to control and contain the disease.

People?s Committees, medical, agricultural, rural development, border quarantine and preventive medical units were asked to prepare and supply bird flu kits to localities in order to prevent transmissions to humans.

The health sector has also been asked to remain vigilant when supervising patients, who are suspected to be infected with H5N1 by placing them in quarantine and isolation wards.-Enditem:tiphat: http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/198351/Default.aspx

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Bird flu hits 16 provinces in Vietnam


Quang Nam in the central region became the 16th Vietnamese province to succumb to bird flu, the media reported Thursday.

In Vinh Nam hamlet in Duy Xuyen district, 370 out of a flock of 400 ducklings raised by a household had been infected May 30, the province?s veterinary bureau said. Specimens had tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the virus, it added.

The central Animal Health Department reported a day earlier that 115 ducks had died on a farm in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho of H5N1.

The infected flocks in Quang Nam and Can Tho were not vaccinated against bird flu and animal health workers slaughtered the remaining 685 birds.

The number of birds killed by the virus or slaughtered nationwide has risen to more than 50,000 this month.

Local veterinary agencies reported they had culled all fowls in affected flocks, disinfected affected areas, and established quarantine checkpoints around infected areas.

The 16 Vietnamese cities and provinces affected by bird flu since the beginning of last month are Quang Ninh, Son La, Nam Dinh, Hai Phong, Bac Giang, Ninh Binh, Bac Ninh, Ha Nam, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, and Vinh Phuc in the northern region; Nghe An, Quang Ngai, and Quang Nam in the central region; and Can Tho and Dong Thap in the south.

Bird flu combat efforts

The head of the National Steering Committee for Avian Influenza Prevention and Control instructed Thursday all local agencies to keep an eye on rural farms and backyard poultry to head off possible bird flu outbreaks.

To deal with the worsening situation, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has called on the health ministry and the Standing Committee of the National Steering Committee for Avian Influenza Prevention and Control to adopt drastic measures to control the disease.

Local governments, medical, agricultural, rural development, border quarantine and preventive medical units have been asked to prepare and supply bird flu kits to local agencies to prevent transmission to humans.

The health sector has been warned to remain vigilant when treating patients suspected to be infected with H5N1 by placing them in isolation wards.

On Wednesday Minister of Agriculture Cao Duc Phat said the country was on the brink of another bird flu epidemic among poultry after the H5N1 virus had spread rapidly in the past month.

Last week Vietnam reported its first human case in a year-and-a-half, a 30-year-old man in Vinh Phuc province near Hanoi.

Doctors treating the man in Hanoi's Bach Mai Hospital said his condition was improving and that he was now able to breathe without a respirator.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/healthy/?catid=8&newsid=28637

 

[Laidback Al]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Updated map of 16 provinces with bird flu in Vietnam.

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

UPDATED: 08:33, June 06, 2007

Ducks die en mass in Vietnam's central province


Tens of ducks in Vietnam's central Thua Thien Hue province have died with unidentified causes over the past few days, while bird flu has continued to spread in the country.

Specimens from the fowls in a flock raised by a household in the province's Huong Thuy district are being tested for bird flu viruses, Vietnam News Agency on Tuesday quoted the provincial Veterinary Bureau as reporting.

The local veterinary agency has slaughtered the flock's 480 remainders, and disinfected affected area.

Bird flu, starting to strike Vietnam in December 2003, has hit 15 Vietnamese cities and provinces, namely Quang Ninh, Son La, Nam Dinh, Hai Phong, Bac Giang, Ninh Binh, Bac Ninh, Ha Nam, Vinh Phuc, Hung Yen and Thai Binh in the northern region, Nghe An and Quang Nam in the central region, and Can Tho and Dong Thap in the southern one, since early May, according to the Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

http://english.people.com.cn/200706/06/eng20070606_381267.html

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Ministry of Health calls for rigorous bird flu surveillance

(06-06-2007)

HCM CITY ? The Health Ministry on Monday ordered local authorities in nine bird flu-struck localities to strictly monitor all people showing possible symptoms of the virus.

In an urgent message to the nine localities ? out of the country?s total 15 provinces and cities that have confirmed outbreaks of the disease since early May ? the ministry ordered local authorities to isolate those affected by the deadly H5N1 virus.

The message also asked localities to stock up on the chemicals needed to disinfect poultry farms and surrounding areas.

Grassroots health agencies have been asked to monitor all those who show symptoms relating to bird flu symptoms such as high fever, cough and difficulty breathing. These patients are to be checked in to local hospitals immediately, not left at home.

Local authorities have been urged to control the trade, transport, and slaughter of poultry to curb the smuggling of un-quarantined poultry and poultry products from affected areas.

The health ministry has also proposed that local provincial authorities launch regular sanitation campaigns.

The ministry will continue buying safety equipment for health and veterinary workers to carry out their job amidst the deadly outbreaks. General hospitals in cities nation-wide will create specialised disease transmission wards for treatment of infected patients.

Two biological safety laboratories are being built at the Central Epidemiology and Hygiene Institute and the Pasteur Institute in HCM City to ensure the safety and effectiveness of virus tests.

There have been two human cases of bird flu in the country over the past 17 months. Other cases with similar symptoms to the H5N1 virus were found later to be negative.

The two bird flu patients were in critical condition but are showing signs of improvement.

Mekong Delta at risk

Bird flu risk is high in the Mekong Delta, where lax management of free-range ducks threatens to produce an outbreak, according to the region?s Steering Committee for Bird Flu Prevention and Control.

The Animal Health Department said local authorities need to comply with the Agriculture Ministry?s rules on farming, hatching, vaccinations and disinfecting to prevent the virus? spread.

Tens of thousands of infected poultry and waterfowls found dead in the 15 affected localities were unvaccinated, according to veterinary workers. ? VNS


http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01HEA060607

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Reproduction of unvaccinated waterfowls causes bird flu in Vietnam

2007-06-07 12:22:41


HANOI, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Rampant reproduction of waterfowls, mainly ducks which have not been vaccinated against bird flu viruses, is the main cause of the disease's new outbreaks in Vietnam, local newspaper People reported Thursday.

Up to 99 percent of poultry that have either been infected with or died of bird flu since early May are waterfowls, mainly unvaccinated ducks aged below two months. Since the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in late February removed a two-year national ban on hatching waterfowl eggs and restocking waterfowl flocks, an increasing number of ducks have been produced in many localities.

Worryingly, it is very difficult to manage the reproduction and the movement of waterfowls, and to vaccinate them. Having no suitable bird flu vaccines to vaccinate one-day-old ducks, Vietnam can not vaccinate them right at the egg incubators, the newspaper said, noting that it only can vaccinate ducks aged over 14 days.

Vietnam finds it difficult to vaccinate all of waterfowls, since most of them are raised freely at household scale, not in concentrated farms, and the country's veterinary forces are weak both in terms of quantity and quality.

Vietnam, spending over 246 billion Vietnamese dong (VND) (15.4 million U.S. dollars) on vaccinating poultry nationwide between 2005 and 2006, has decided to set aside nearly 278 billion VND (17.4 million dollars) on the vaccination in the 2007-2008 period, said the newspaper.

Bird flu, starting to strike Vietnam in December 2003, has, since early May, hit poultry in a total of 15 Vietnamese cities and provinces nationwide.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-06/07/content_6210421.htm

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Ministry orders disinfections to contain bird flu
06/06/2007 -- 9:55 PM
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Ha Noi (VNA) - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has ordered localities nationwide to embark on disinfectant spraying throughout June in an attempt to contain bird flu, which reappeared in the country in early May.

The Ministry made the request and reminded local authorities to focus their efforts on the spraying of poultry farms, slaughterhouses and poultry markets in particular.

According to the National Steering Committee for Avian Influenza Prevention and Combat, bird flu has struck in 63 communes and wards of 15 cities and provinces since its re-emergence in May.

The outbreaks have been responsible for the culling of 100,000 fowl and the transmission of H5N1 virus to two people in the northern provinces of Vinh Phuc and Thai Nguyen.

On June 6, the Veterinary Department - the nation's bird flu watchdog reported new outbreaks in the Mekong delta city of Can Tho and the northern provinces of Bac Giang and Thai Binh.:tiphat: http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/199139/Default.aspx</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

<TABLE class=stlArcTable><TBODY><TR><TD>

HCM City district clinics to be upgraded into hospitals
(05-06-2007)
HCM CITY ? HCM City is set to upgrade its 24 district-level health care clinics into hospitals to improve and expand their facilities.
Nguyen Van Nghiem, head of the Department of Health?s medical affairs office, said once the clinics were upgraded, they would be able to buy equipment and revamp their facilities.
The hospital staff would also get additional training to perform more advanced procedures. The clinics only used to provide free vaccinations to children and basic health checks. But all of them have graduated to complicated procedures like haemodialysis, endoscopic diagnosis, and surgery.
Nguyen The Dung, director of health, said these clinics were helping ease the burden on major hospitals with many patients changing their health insurance policy from State-owned hospitals to these for treatment.
For their expenses, they were allowed to borrow money from the city People?s Committee at a lower rate.
But their status still precluded their access to further investments, international co-operation, or training for staff.
Nguyen Van Chau, director of the Cu Chi District Healthcare Clinic, said his clinic would be split into two divisions, one a 700-bed general hospital under the Department of Health, and the other with 100 beds under the district People?s Committee.
The clinic is considered the city?s best district facility in terms of the number and complexity of the medical procedures it performs.
Nghiem said the preventive medical teams based in the 24 districts would also be upgraded into medical prevention centres so that they could perform better their task of epidemic prevention and control.
Besides, an office for medical affairs would also be set up in districts to help authorities control the business activities of the medical industry. However, Nghiem expressed concern about the human resources needed for these upgrades since many clinics already faced a shortage of qualified doctors, nurses, and technicians. ? VNS:tiphat: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=02HEA050607​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD class=tintop_title vAlign=top align=left>Bird-flu vaccination programme suspected of fraud</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news_date vAlign=top align=left height=20>16:07' 06/06/2007 (GMT+7) </TD></TR><TR><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left><STYLE><!-- p.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; margin-left:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-top:0in}TABLE { behavior: url(/news/js/article/editor/css/behaviors/showtableborders.htc) ; }--></STYLE>
<TABLE class="" id=table1 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=200 align=left fck_template="imagecontener"><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=image_desc align=middle> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>VietNamNet Bridge ? A rumour says that the national programme to vaccinate fowls with bird-flu vaccines worth tens of billions of dong may fail as the bird-flu virus changes constantly. Deputy Director of the National Veterinary Testing Centre Nguyen Van Cam on June 5 showed ample evidence to reject the concern.

Last weekend this centre injected H5N1 virus into 27 chickens that had not been vaccinated and all of them died. The virus was also injected into 20 vaccinated chickens and only one had died within four days of being injected.

?The tests show that the vaccine is effective for H5N1 virus in Vietnam,? Mr Cam said.

Another Deputy Director of the centre, To Long Thanh, said that the agency brought six types of bird-flu virus to China for testing by a Chinese expert, who created many kinds of vaccines, including the bird-flu vaccine that Vietnam is using. The results show that the viruses found in Vietnam are very similar to the kind of virus that caused bird flu in China in 2005. Thus, the vaccine that Vietnam has used since 2005 is still suitable.

Mr Thanh also quoted an Australian doctor, who was the first person to bring bird-flu vaccine to Hong Kong in 1997, as rejecting the information that the vaccine produced by China prevents Z type virus while G type virus is popular in Vietnam so the vaccine is ineffective.

Is there fraud in bird-flu vaccination programme?

Mr Cam said that the immunity ratio of vaccinated fowls was very low in many provinces. For example, of 13 flocks of vaccinated chickens that were selected at random for observation in the northern province of Quang Ninh, one doesn?t have antibodies. Also in this province, two of six flocks of ducks had immunity ratios from zero to 33%. In Hai Duong, three of eight monitored flocks of ducks didn?t have antibodies.

In the northern province of Nam Dinh, which was selected for an experimental vaccination of bird flu and where all two injections have been completed, the immunity ratio is still low.

?The low ratio of immunity is perhaps caused by wrong injection techniques. If the immunity ratio is zero percent, we really need to inspect whether the fowls have been vaccinated or not,? Mr Cam said.

At a meeting of the National Steering Board for Bird Flu Control held on June 5, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat also said it was worrying when provinces, particularly those in the north, reported high percentages of fowls that had been injected with bird-flu vaccine but the disease still appears in the north.

?It is necessary to consider this issue. If vaccination is ineffective, we have to vaccinate fowls again,? the minister emphasised.

Bird flu can outbreak on national scale

According to veterinary experts, disease germs exist everywhere in the environment. Up to 8.33% of unvaccinated water fowls in Bac Giang and 46% in Bac Ninh provinces, all in the north, are infected with H5N1 virus. In all 15 provinces reporting bird flu, the disease mainly attacks water fowls.

This fact stirs the controversy about whether the agriculture sector should continue to follow Decision 17 to reproduce the water fowl flock:tiphat: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/reports/2007/06/703254/
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD class=tintop_title vAlign=top align=left>H5N1 may be transmitted via human waste</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news_date vAlign=top align=left height=20>17:07' 08/06/2007 (GMT+7) </TD></TR><TR><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left>VietNamNet Bridge ? With the assistance of experts from the US? Offox University, doctors at Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital discovered H5N1 virus in not only the throat and gastric juices but also in the stool of the type A/H5N1 patient from the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

This information was released by Dr. Nguyen Quoc Tuan, Head of the General Planning Department of the Bach Mai hospital, on June 7.

Dr. Tuan warned that H5N1 could completely spread through human waste, which is very dangerous if this disease attacks rural areas where many families don?t have standard toilets.

According to Dr. Tuan, as doctors can determine the quantity of H5N1 virus in an individual, they can follow the disease in each phase of development to apply suitable treatment methods. In addition, thanks to continuous blood filtering methods, the patient from Vinh Phuc has quickly regained his health.

Dr. Tuan said that these were new methods and useful for type A/H5N1 patients in general. They have been proven through the recovery of the patient from Vinh Phuc, the first Vietnamese type A/H5N1 patient since November 2005.

Those discoveries will be shared with experts of the Japan International Health Centre early next week at a video conference, Dr. Tuan said.:tiphat:
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2007/06/704134/
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
We already suspected/knew this,but here it is.

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Interesting article about human waste,

This is very interesting too:

In addition, thanks to continuous blood filtering methods, the patient from Vinh Phuc has quickly regained his health.

Anyone has more information about " blood filtering methods" ?

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Vietnam stays alert for bird flu threat to human beings

23:24' 10/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - The Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has sent out taskforces to Red River Delta provinces to check bird flu outbreaks as well as its spread to human beings.

One of the teams?s tasks is to instruct local colleagues to raise public awareness against the traditional way of killing and eating water fowls, the biggest threat of the pandemic, in an effort to curb the transmission of H5N1 virus to people.

Vietnam is taking steps to set up habits of killing poultry for table at slaughter houses instead of doing it by themselves at home.

The Veterinary Department reported three new bird flu outbreaks in Can Tho city in the south and Ha Nam province in the north on June 9 and 10.

All the dead stocks were found yet vaccinated, said authorities.

The Veterinary Department added that recent replases of the epidemic since early May mostly happened to water fowls in northern provinces which have just finished winter-spring rice harvests. It blamed the disaster on farmers? habits to free the birds to harvested rice fields for feed.

In the period under review, bird flu outbreaks were discovered in 16 provinces, mostly in the Red River Delta, said the Veterinary Department.

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2007/06/704623/

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

UPDATED: 13:26, June 12, 2007

Fowls die en mass in Vietnam's capital city Hanoi

Over 300 white-winged ducks in Vietnam's capital city Hanoi have died with unidentified causes over the past few days, while bird flu continues to spread in the country.

Specimens from the fowls raised by two households in the city's Thanh Tri district are being tested for bird flu viruses. The local veterinary agency has culled all fowls in the affected two flocks and disinfected affected area, local newspaper Labor reported Tuesday.

Bird flu, starting to strike Vietnam in December 2003, has hit 16 Vietnamese cities and provinces nationwide since early May, according to the Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200706/12/eng20070612_383348.html

 

[Sally Furniss]

Nearly 13% of Vietnam's waterfowls carry H5N1

Nearly 13% of Vietnam's waterfowls carry H5N1

Nearly 13% of Vietnam's waterfowls carry H5N1

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-06/13/content_6236311.htm

HANOI, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Roughly 13 percent of waterfowls in Vietnam have bird flu virus strain H5N1, local newspaper Labor reported Wednesday.

Tests show that nearly 21.7 percent of waterfowls in capital Hanoi, 21.2 percent in northern Bac Ninh province, and over 7.6 percent in northern Bac Giang province carry the virus, the paper quoted the Central Veterinary Diagnosis Center as saying.

To prevent the disease's spread, Vietnam is intensifying bird flu vaccination among poultry and tightening fowl trade, transport and production.

Vietnam has planned to import additional 500 million doses of bird flu vaccines for fowls, expected to be used in the 2007-2008 period.

The country has so far this year vaccinated 136.8 million fowls, including nearly 79.7 million chickens, 53.7 million ducks and roughly 3.5 million white-winged ducks, according to the Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Bird flu, starting to strike Vietnam in December 2003, has hit 16 Vietnamese cities and provinces nationwide since early May.

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Bird flu flares up in central Vietnam ducks

Thu 14 Jun 2007, 9:12 GMT

HANOI, June 14 (Reuters) - Bird flu has spread to several hundred ducks in a third central province and Vietnam's top agriculture official warned of more human infections after four cases reported since May.

A total of 350 ducks died on a farm in Ha Tinh province on Monday and tests have confirmed the birds carried the H5N1 avian flu virus, the Animal Health Department said on Thursday.

"We have slaughtered all the remaining ducks in the infected area," an animal health official in the province said.

The Ha Tinh infection, the third in central Vietnam after Nghe An and Quang Nam provinces, has brought the number of infected areas nationwide to 17. They include 15 provinces and the cities of Haiphong and Can Tho.

State media quoted Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat as saying more people could be infected over the next week as eating ducks was common during a festival on June 19. The virus living in unvaccinated poultry has added to the infection risk, he said.

On Tuesday, officials said two women, aged 28 and 29, had been infected by the H5N1 virus in the northern provinces of Thanh Hoa and Ha Nam. Doctors said the 28-year-old from Ha Nam province was in serious condition and needed a respirator to breathe.

Four people have been found to be infected since May, the first human cases of H5N1 in Vietnam in a year and a half.

The two women and an infected slaughterhouse worker were being treated in a Hanoi hospital.

A 30-year-old man whose infection was reported on May 24 was discharged from the same hospital on June 4. Last week, doctors said he had been cured.

Bird flu has killed 42 people out of 97 cases of infection in Vietnam since the disease re-emerged in Asia in late 2003. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has not confirmed the latest four infections.

The government has ordered provincial authorities to target all poultry during a second phase of vaccinations now underway in nearly half of 64 cities and provinces. About 140 million poultry were vaccinated in the first phase early this year.

Globally, the H5N1 virus has killed 190 people out of 312 known cases, according to the WHO tally. Hundreds of millions of birds have died or been slaughtered, including nearly 120,000 in Vietnam's latest outbreaks since early May.

http://africa.reuters.com/commodities/news/usnHAN43771.html

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Another Vietnam province struck by bird flu

The bird flu swooped in on a duck farm in the northern Ha Tinh Province, bringing the total number of Vietnamese provinces and cities gripped by the deadly H5N1 virus to 17.

A total of 350 out of 2,500 ducks reportedly perished Thursday in Thinh Loc Commune, Loc Ha District.

All the dead ducks tested positive for the feared H5N1, said the local Veterinary Department.

The department culled the remaining ducks from the flock.

On the same day, the Ministry of Health?s Vietnamese Veterinary Bureau reported that no fresh epidemic zones have been detected for 8-15 days in the bird flu-hit provinces of Quang Ninh, Dong Thap, Bac Ninh, Phu Tho, Nam Dinh, Vinh Phuc, Hung Yen, and Quang Nam.

The recurrence of the disease last month has mostly affected waterfowls in northern Red River Delta prov*inces as the winter-spring rice harvest has come to a close. Authorities have blamed farm*ers who let their birds feed in harvested rice fields for the outbreaks.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture has advised that consumers be extra careful over the holiday next Tuesday, Tet Doan Ngo, a chicken and duck feast festival in which fowls will be more heavily sold and transported, making inspections more difficult

http://www.thanhniennews.com/healthy/?catid=8&newsid=29044

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Bird flu spreads wings in Vietnam

Vietnam finds bird flu near border with China

15 Jun 2007 10:41:35 GMT

HANOI, June 15 (Reuters) - Bird flu has spread to ducks and chickens near Vietnam's border with China, the Agriculture Ministry said on Friday.

The outbreak in mountainous Cao Bang province took to 16 provinces and two cities the number of areas struck by the H5N1 bird flu virus since it re-emerged in Vietnam in early May.

The ministry said tests confirmed the presence of H5N1 in a poultry farm near China's Guangxi province, which shares a 311 km (195 miles) border with Vietnam.

The virus killed 87 ducks and chickens at a farm in Thong Nong district on June 11. All poultry on the farm were then destroyed.

On Tuesday, officials said two women, aged 28 and 29, had been infected by the H5N1 virus in the northern provinces of Thanh Hoa and Ha Nam. Doctors said the 28-year-old from Ha Nam province was in serious condition and needed a respirator to breathe.

Four people have been found to be infected since May, the first human cases of H5N1 in Vietnam in a year and a half.

The two women and an infected slaughterhouse worker were being treated in a Hanoi hospital.

A 30-year-old man whose infection was reported on May 24 was discharged from the same hospital on June 4. Last week, doctors said he had been cured.

Bird flu has killed 42 people out of 97 known infections in Vietnam since the virus re-emerged in Asia in late 2003. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has not confirmed the latest four infections.

Globally, the H5N1 virus has killed 191 people out of 312 known cases, according to a tally by the WHO. Hundreds of millions of birds have died or been slaughtered.

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