February 4, 2009
Hanoi bans motorbike poultry transport
Vietnam's capital Hanoi has forbidden the transport of poultry and cattle by motorbikes and bicycles for fear of massive epidemic spread, state media said Tuesday (February 3).
The mandate, which was issued on January 22 but only became effective Monday, said poultry, cattle and their associated products must be transported using special vehicles only, according to online news VietnamNet.
But the news site recently ran a video clip showing live meat products were being driven in the city early Tuesday morning on motorbikes, a popular means of transport in Vietnam for poultry, pigs or even dogs.
Vietnam, which has been frequently hit by the H5N1 strain of bird flu since 2003, has reported avian influenza among ducks only in the Mekong delta province of Ca Mau.
The country has already seen a human bird flu case this year, an eight-year-old girl from northern Thanh Hoa province who has now recovered.
According to health officials, her 13-year-old sister earlier died in hospital but was not tested for H5N1 before she was buried.
Bird flu has killed 52 people in Vietnam, while the world's highest death toll belongs to Indonesia with 113 fatalities.
