March 17, 2004

FAO Says Vietnam Bird Flu Threat Still Present
 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have said that the threat of bird flu in Vietnam is still present and the country should not rush to replenish its flocks or resume poultry trade.

"FAO continues to be very concerned about future outbreaks," said Anton Rychener, the Vietnam representative of the U.N. agency. "Vietnam is not in the clear."

Neighbor Thailand on Tuesday announced a new human death from bird flu, its eighth, while China declared it had stamped out the disease, which spread from sick poultry and may have originated from migratory birds.

Fifteen people have died of the H5N1 virus in Vietnam, with the last fatality reported on February 18. Vietnam's largest city Ho Chi Minh City lifted a ban on selling poultry on March 5 although the capital Hanoi has not officially resumed trade.

Rychener said the FAO has two consultants working with Vietnam's agriculture officials to offer advice on restocking. He said the country does not have sufficient laboratories and other resources to ensure chickens that are sold are healthy.

Vietnam, which has begun restocking flocks decimated by the cull or death of an estimated 38 million poultry, has said it hopes to declare the virus eradicated by the end of this month.

"We will continue to monitor the situation closely and maintain strict measures to control the disease," Dau Ngoc Hao, deputy director of the Department of Animal Health, told Reuters. "The outbreak is not over yet."