January 3, 2007

Vietnam PM orders resolute bird flu prevention measures

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has instructed concerned authorities to take strong measures to prevent a recurrence of bird flu endemic, especially the vaccination of newly-hatched poultry.

The PM made the request during his meeting with local governments of seven localities in the southern part of the Hau River, including Can Tho city and the provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Hau Giang, Kien Giang and An Giang.

He said the localities have not done well in vaccinating their poultry against bird flu, as outbreaks were discovered among unvaccinated poultry.

The PM criticised the authorities of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu and Hau Giang provinces, where bird flu broke out recently, for lacking vigilance in quick detection of the epidemic.

He ordered immediate isolation of affected areas and destroy infected poultry to prevent the disease from spreading to humans. He also asked to strengthen surveillance of poultry farms to detect outbreaks early and intensify disinfections and detoxification of farms.

PM Dung also required the provinces to promote information dissemination about bird flu to raise public awareness of the disease.

He added the Government would provide funds for the seven affected communities to help them in the fight against bird flu and ask relevant agencies to supply sufficient vaccines for these localities to conduct inoculation for all of their poultry.