Avian influenza may outbreak from 8mil geese
21:59' 22/08/2006 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge ? H5N1 has been found in unvaccinated ducks and geese in southern provinces. Meanwhile, the Veterinary Department is unable to produce a vaccine for geese, which signals a high risk for a recurrence of the bird flu epidemic in Vietnam.
In southern Ben Tre province, 50 ducks and geese tested positive for H5N1. The local veterinary agency has sent 600 blood samples of 300 ducks and geese to the HCM City Veterinary Centre for testing.
Mai Van Hiep, head of the provincial Veterinary Agency, said that the local government should not ban farmers from rearing ducks and geese. Ben Tre currently has around 700,000 ducks and geese. Its ducks have received the first vaccination only. The province is preparing for the second injection.
In Tien Giang province, analyses of blood samples of 11 geese that were not vaccinated shows that up to two-thirds of the samples were positive for type A/H5N1 virus.
According to Director Truong Van Dung of the Veterinary Institute, the world doesn?t have vaccine for geese so this is a problem for Vietnam. Mr Dung said that he didn?t know when the vaccine for geese would be produced because it was a ?scientific research task?.
Vietnam?s waterfowl numbers 50-70 million heads, accounting for over 26% of the poultry flock, and includes 7-8 million geese, mainly in the north and northern part of the central region. Provinces in the Mekong Delta have smaller numbers of geese but most of the geese are let to wander, including 196,000 in Dong Thap, 114,000 in Can Tho.
Ha Yen
21:59' 22/08/2006 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge ? H5N1 has been found in unvaccinated ducks and geese in southern provinces. Meanwhile, the Veterinary Department is unable to produce a vaccine for geese, which signals a high risk for a recurrence of the bird flu epidemic in Vietnam.
In southern Ben Tre province, 50 ducks and geese tested positive for H5N1. The local veterinary agency has sent 600 blood samples of 300 ducks and geese to the HCM City Veterinary Centre for testing.
Mai Van Hiep, head of the provincial Veterinary Agency, said that the local government should not ban farmers from rearing ducks and geese. Ben Tre currently has around 700,000 ducks and geese. Its ducks have received the first vaccination only. The province is preparing for the second injection.
In Tien Giang province, analyses of blood samples of 11 geese that were not vaccinated shows that up to two-thirds of the samples were positive for type A/H5N1 virus.
According to Director Truong Van Dung of the Veterinary Institute, the world doesn?t have vaccine for geese so this is a problem for Vietnam. Mr Dung said that he didn?t know when the vaccine for geese would be produced because it was a ?scientific research task?.
Vietnam?s waterfowl numbers 50-70 million heads, accounting for over 26% of the poultry flock, and includes 7-8 million geese, mainly in the north and northern part of the central region. Provinces in the Mekong Delta have smaller numbers of geese but most of the geese are let to wander, including 196,000 in Dong Thap, 114,000 in Can Tho.
Ha Yen