May 28, 2007

Bird flu kills more than 1,300 fowl in northern Vietnam

Bird flu has killed more than 1,300 fowl at several farms in northern Vietnam, prompting the government Friday (May 25) to demand urgent action to prevent the virus from spreading more.

About 320 ducks have died of bird flu on a farm in the northern port city of Haiphong, and authorities have culled nearly 180 others which may have been exposed to the virus, the Department of Animal Health said on its website.

In the northern province of Bac Giang, about 1,000 ducks and chickens have died or been slaughtered at 13 private farms, the report said.

Bird flu outbreaks have been reported in six provinces throughout the country over the past month, killing or forcing the slaughter of more than 10,000 birds.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has urged local authorities to take stronger measures to contain the virus, state media reported Friday.

Vietnam was hailed as a success story for beating back the virus that began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. A nationwide mass poultry vaccination programme, coupled with strong political will, brought the virus under control after it killed 42 people in the country.

No poultry outbreaks were reported in 2006, but the virus flared again early this year, when Vietnam also confirmed the first human case in 18 months.