February 26, 2008

Vietnam reports new case of bird flu

Vietnam's Department of Animal Health confirmed Sunday that fowls found in northern Ninh Binh province were infected of bird flu.

The recent reports raise the total number of affected localities nationwide to seven, the local media said Monday.

Vietnam's bird flu outbreak started on February 18 in Ninh Binh's Yen Khanh district, killing over 330 poultry raised by a household, said Youth newspaper.

The seven localities hit by bird flu are Thai Nguyen, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Tuyen Quang and Ninh Binh in the northern region, and southern Long An province.

Government officials have assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to be in charge of importing some 250 million doses of bird flu vaccines, the Saigon Liberation newspaper stated.

Vietnam is scheduled to import several batches of bird flu vaccines, mainly from China.

The first bird flu case in Vietnam was detected in December 2003, with millions of fowls killed.