March 2, 2007

Bird flu resurfaces in southern Vietnam

Bird flu has resurfaced in a province in southern Vietnam, just days after an outbreak was reported in the northern part of the country, officials said Thursday (Mar 1).

The latest outbreak occurred in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long, just two weeks after authorities declared that previous outbreaks there and in seven other southern provinces had been contained.

About 50 unvaccinated ducks died at a farm in Tra On District on Feb 25, and test results released Thursday showed they were infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu, said Nguyen Ba Thanh, director of the Mekong regional animal health centre.

The birds had been transported from neighbouring Soc Trang province to forage on leftover grains of rice from a recently harvested field, a common practice in the region that has helped fuel the spread of the bird flu.

The outbreak has forced authorities to slaughter 800 ducklings, Thanh said.

"It is very likely that a bigger outbreak will occur, as there are still unvaccinated ducks in all provinces in the region," Thanh said.