January 19, 2007

Vietnam bans ducks roaming to stop bird flu spread

Vietnam has ordered farmers to stop ducks from roaming in the Mekong delta where bird flu has been reported in half the southern region in the past month.

As the harvest season nears, government officials are worried that farmers would continue their usual practice of allowing their ducks to roam through the fields to pick off any stray grains of rice not collected from the harvest. 

Animal health officials said H5N1 has killed nearly 19,000 poultry in the delta. The bird flu virus has spread to seven Mekong delta provinces in past weeks.

To compound the danger, the birds still excrete the virus in their droppings as they paddle through muddy rice paddies looking for insects and leftover grain.

The movement of duck stocks in the Mekong delta fields is strictly prohibited until the epidemic comes to an end, Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat said in a directive seen on Thursday. All ducks in infected communes should be kept inside.

The government is anxious to stop bird flu spreading ahead of the Tet Lunar New Year festival in mid-February, when poultry is part of the traditional feast.

Officials fear the disease could spread nationwide through migrating birds and movement of poultry.