February 5, 2004

 

 

Vietnam Bans Poultry Sales To Curb Bird Flu Spread

 

Vietnam has banned all sales of live poultry and poultry products across the country in a desperate attempt to curb the spread of the deadly bird flu, but stopped short of ordering the slaughter of the country's 250 million chickens and ducks.

 

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai ordered the ban during the monthly government meeting held Wednesday, the state-run Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported Thursday.

 

Vietnam has reported 10 human deaths from bird flu, along with four other surviving cases. The latest death, announced Wednesday, was a 16-year-old girl from southern Soc Trang province.

 

The World Health Organization has confirmed all but the most recent case.

 

Officials didn't explain their reasons for the sales ban strategy. The bird flu virus is believed to spread mainly between infected birds, and sometimes from birds to humans.

 

There have been worries - but no evidence - that a new virus hybrid could develop and spread between people. Health officials have said they believe most of the human infections came from direct contact with infected birds.

 

There have no cases reported of people catching the disease from properly prepared poultry products, and the government in nearby Thailand has sought to restore confidence in those products in public giveaways of cooked chicken and eggs.

 

The WHO is investigating the possibility of human-to-human transmission - the scenario feared most - in one infected family in Vietnam.

 

Vietnamese officials have said they will do whatever it takes to halt the virus.

 

"The bird flu situation is serious. If it's not prevented in time and allows for (human-to-human) transmission, it would be a huge disaster. Our recent drastic measures have not yet prevented and eliminated the outbreak," Le Huy Ngo, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, told the government meeting.

 

Bird flu has so far been reported in 56 of Vietnam's 64 provinces, killing or prompting the slaughter of more than 14 million birds.

 

Vietnamese officials have been grappling with ways to stem the spread, previously imposing a nationwide ban on the transport of poultry.

 

Authorities in the capital, Hanoi, have already banned poultry sales in the city and ordered the cull of its estimated 2 million chickens and ducks.

 

Vietnam's largest city, the southern business hub of Ho Chi Minh City, ordered the slaughter of all its 3.5 million poultry two weeks ago.

 

Health Minister Tran Thi Trung Chien said at Wednesday's meeting that Vietnam has a major shortage of protective gear for those involved in the cull, and that its hospitals don't have enough respirators to treat bird flu patients' pneumonia-like symptoms.

 

Khai said workers culling poultry should be properly protected. He had earlier asked international organizations and foreign governments for assistance.

 

On Wednesday, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank said it was giving Vietnam US$50,000 to buy protective gear such as masks, gloves, and suits. The ADB also said it was giving US$160,000 to Vietnam's Health Ministry for its training and information campaign against the disease.

 

Japan has donated Y10 million worth of medicine, including 100,000 tablets of the anti-viral medicine Tamiflu.

 

At the government meeting, Ngo said Vietnam's economic losses from the outbreak were so far estimated at 400 billion dong ($1=VND15,688).

 

National broadcaster Vietnam Television reported Wednesday night that Vietnam would lose US$700 million-US$800 million if its 250 million poultry were culled.

 

The deadly flu, which has infected millions of chickens and ducks across Asia, has crossed over to humans only in Vietnam and Thailand, which has confirmed five human bird flu deaths.

 

Khai said Wednesday that he and other cabinet members would go to two to three provinces each to direct the fight against the disease.

 

Most of Vietnam's human bird flu cases have come from the northern region around Hanoi. The 16-year-old girl's death from the flu was the first reported from the southern Mekong Delta area, which has been especially hard-hit by infections among birds.