July 12, 2004

8,000 Chickens Culled On Vietnam Farm; Bird Flu Fears

Some 8,000 chickens were slaughtered this week on a commercial farm in Vietnam's Mekong Delta after scores of birds suddenly died there amid a wave of new flare-ups of bird flu in Asia, company officials said Friday.

About 60 chickens died Tuesday at a Vietnamese-run farm in Tien Giang province that's stocked with poultry provided by the Thai CP Vietnam Group, said an executive who identified himself only as Phu. Another 120 birds died Wednesday, but the cause of their deaths has not been determined.

"We have to act swiftly to prevent the disease from spreading," he said.

The company has sent samples to the regional center for animal health in Ho Chi Minh City, with results expected back in several days.

Several small bird flu outbreaks were reported in the province earlier this month, resulting in the cull of more than 20,000 poultry from six central and southern provinces. Vietnam has not yet identified the strain of the virus.

New bird flu outbreaks were reported in China and Thailand this week, where officials have culled nearly 40,000 poultry.

Bird flu jumped from birds to people earlier this year, killing 16 people in Vietnam and eight in Thailand. About 100 million chickens across the region were slaughtered to halt its spread.