January 15, 2007

Vietnam's Soc Trang Province becomes seventh province hit by bird flu

The Mekong Delta region is on 24-hour vigilance against bird flu as the dreaded disease struck again in Soc Trang province Sunday becoming the seventh province to declare outbreaks after it first surfaced late last year.

According to the Vietnam News Agency, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Cao Duc Phat, immediately flew to the region upon having learnt the bad news that 134 ducks in Soc Trang had tested positive for the deadly virus.

In his stop-over in Vinh Long province, one of the disease-affected areas in the region, Phat, who also heads the National Steering Committee for Bird Flu Control called on the local administration to leave no stone unturned to curb the deadly pandemic.

He also unveiled the ministry's long-term strategy to work with local administrations to launch campaigns for establishing a modern poultry-farming industry under strict rules and with regular poultry vaccinations on a national scale in an effort to ensure biological safety and environmental hygiene.

The minister also reminded community governments of the Prime Minister's instruction not to let financial problems make any impact on bird flu control and ordered them to strictly abide by the top-level demand.

In the Mekong Delta, over 39 villages in 19 districts have detected bird flu outbreaks 21 days after it first struck in late December.