May 6, 2004

Bird Flu Resurfaces In Vietnam
 

More than a month after the bird flu outbreak was declared over, the disease has struck again in Vietnam. 16 people were killed in the earlier outbreak.

The latest outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was found on a farm in the south of the country. A senior agriculture official said on Thursday that it has been successfully contained.

"There is an outbreak in Dong Thap," Bui Quang Anh, director of the Agriculture Ministry's animal health department, told the state-run Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, referring to a southern province.

"After it was spotted, the outbreak was contained. Dead chickens have been treated to ensure the disease does not spread," he said.

The bird flu, which swept across many parts of Asia since late last year, killed millions of chickens and devastated poultry industries in several countries. It also killed 24 people -- 16 in Vietnam and eight in Thailand.

Vietnam had declared itself free of the disease on March 30. Thailand has twice delayed making that declaration, most recently after a new outbreak was found on April 19.

A representative of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in Vietnam said the new outbreak was not a surprise.

According to a FAO official, Anton Rychener, the area where the outbreak was detected should be immediately isolated, and the situation carefully controlled.

Agriculture Minister Le Huy Ngo was also cautious.

"The risk of bird flu re-occurrence in Vietnam is very high," he was quoted by Tuoi Tre as saying.