January 22, 2007

Ho Chi Minh City urged to boost anti-bird flu measures

Vietnam Health Minister Tran Thi Trung Chien told Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) authorities to strengthen measures against a possible outbreak of avian influenza following a fresh occurrence of the dreaded disease in Mekong Delta region. 

Chien has ordered HCMC People's Committee to keep under strict surveillance unquarantined poultry as well as illegal transport of birds and poultry products from the Mekong Delta and Southeastern provinces.

The health minister also urged the city government to gather information about the number of households raising poultry across the city and launch propaganda through the media to raise public awareness of the avian influenza.

Chien led a working group of the Health Ministry to oversee and inspect at some poultry slaughter houses in the city.

In related news, the Animal Health Department said additional locations in the Mekong Delta provinces of Ca Mau and Bac Lieu had been found with bird flu outbreaks.

In Ca Mau, a rash of bird flu outbreaks occurred in the communes of Khanh Hoa, Tan Phu and Khanh Loc in U Minh, Thoi Binh and Tran Van Thoi districts.

Laboratory tests had shown the H5N1 strain of the virus had killed 95 unvaccinated ducklings and 10 wild geese.

The local veterinary agency slaughtered 135 ducklings at these places.

As of January 19, the outbreaks--which was blamed on gaps poor response on the government's vaccination programs and the illegal hatching of ducks--have now spread to 42 communities in the provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Hau Giang, Vinh Long, Kien Giang, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang and Can Tho city.