March 28, 2008

 

Vietnam's latest tests clear of bird flu virus

 

 

Vietnam's latest samples of the soil, water and blood of civets taken from Cuc Phuong National Park do not contain bird flu, yet experts say fight against the virus has just started.

 

News about civets dying of bird flu in Cuc Phuong has recently worried Vietnam locals and tourists.

 

Though all samples of soil, water and civet blood were clear of bird flu virus, the park's animal preservation zone has imposed a curfew.

 

Bui Dang Phong, deputy director of the Wildlife Rescue and Preservation Centre, said the first civet died in early February.

 

As the weather was cold, experts said the civet died of pneumonia or food poisoning yet several days later, 3 more civets died.

 

Samples of the four dead civets were brought for testing, which revealed that they died of bird flu.

 

The centre then sent blood samples of the remaining civets to the National Veterinary Diagnosis Centre for testing.

 

The tests show that the living civets do not have bird flu, but preservation experts at Cuc Phuong consider that the war against has just begun.

 

Between civet cages, experts place basins containing decontaminants and each civet has its own diary, which is hung on its cage door. Every move of the animal is recorded in the diary.

 

On March 25, the National Steering Board for Bird Flu Control representatives met to present their reports on the situations in the locations they inspected.

 

Nguyen Thanh Son, vice head of the Animal Husbandry Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said some provinces like Thai Binh, Ha Nam and Ninh Binh do not properly control poultry hatching and perform anti-bird flu activities.

 

Other working groups will finish their survey trips on March 30 and report to the National Steering Board for Bird Flu Control.