January 8, 2007

Another bird flu outbreak occurred in Vietnam's Bac Lieu province

The province of Bac Lieu in Vietnam has discovered four new H5N1 pandemic sources in the province, and had to cull 1,600 ducks on January 7.

The total number of communities in the province with bird-flu affected poultry has reached 16. Bac Lieu has decided to cull all unvaccinated poultry under 14 days old in order to prevent the bird flu epidemic from spreading.

Vinh Binh commune in Hoa Binh district has decided to cull a herd of 300 ducks. Long Thanh and Vinh Loi communities have killed 750 ducks and two areas in Gia Lai district have killed 450 units.

Bac Lieu Veterinary Agency head Lam Tri Thong said that the affected fowls and ducks had just been inoculated, and the time from the vaccination until infection was not long enough to ensure the immunity. In order to prevent the bird flu epidemic from spreading, the provincial authority has decided to take drastic measures to control the pandemic.

The southern province of Hau Giang discovered another pandemic hotspot area in January 7 where 22 fowls were found dead. Authorities have sent the birds in to veterinary and health authorities to verify the presence of the dreaded H5N1.

On January 2, the Government Office released an order from Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for an intensified campaign against the bird flu in southern provinces. The pandemic sources in Ca Mau, Bac Lieu and Hau Giang have been put under strict control; however, there remain high risks of the virus spreading to other localities. The PM also urged local authorities to take drastic measures to prevent the spreading of the pandemic, while ensuring normal poultry farming.