Vietnam bird flu outbreak in poultry widens

 

 

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has been reported among poultry in more locations across Vietnam, raising fears of a possible epidemic, officials and media reports said Friday (February 6).

 

The latest outbreak occurred on a farm in the Mekong delta's Ca Mau province, where 300 unvaccinated ducklings died of the virus, said the national animal health department.

 

The Hanoi-based office in its earlier reports said avian influenza had been found in ducks in nearby Soc Trang province and Nghe An province in the country's central region.

 

The state-run Thanh Nien newspaper said Friday that southern Bac Lieu has been added to the list of provinces hit by bird flu.

 

"Epidemics could spread easily because of cold weather and local residents' habit of letting the ducks run around in rice fields," Thanh Nien said, adding that thousands of infected poultry have died or been culled this year.

 

Earlier this month, Vietnam's capital city of Hanoi issued a ban on the widespread use of motorbikes or bicycles to transport poultry and livestock for fear it could help trigger an epidemic.

 

However, state media have frequently reported that meat products continued to be transported by motorbike into the city daily, despite the ban.

 

The communist country, which has been hit by bird flu since 2003, reported a human case this year - an 8-year-old girl from northern Thanh Hoa province who has now recovered.

 

Her 13-year-old sister died in a hospital earlier, but wasn't tested for H5N1 before her burial, health officials said.

 

Vietnam has recorded 52 human deaths from bird flu, the second-highest toll after Indonesia, where the virus has reportedly killed 115 people.