January 12, 2006

80 million fowls culled globally

An estimated 80 million fowls had been culled around the world since bird flu started raising concerns in 2003, causing losses of US$300-500 million, according to local media reports.

Before Turkey was added to the growing list of countries hit by bird flu, there were China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Italy and the Netherlands.

These countries attempted to halt the spread of the disease through culling millions of fowl. In Italy, 17 million fowls were destroyed; in the US, 20 million; in the Netherlands, 28 million; and in Belgium, 14 million fowls. In Vietnam, where keeping poultry at home is quite widespread, a US$400-million budget has been earmarked for bird flu.

In 2005, bird flu hit 35 Vietnamese localities, killing or leading to the culling of 5.7 million poultry. In the third outbreak starting on Oct 1, 2005, a total of 21 cities and provinces were hit by the disease, leading to the culling of 4 million fowls.

Vietnam has earmarked a US$400-million budget for bird flu vaccination. It has had no new bird flu outbreaks over the past three weeks since Dec 15, meeting criteria for declaring the country free of the disease.