July 16, 2004

 

 

More Bird Flu Outbreaks In Vietnam
 

Bird flu is suspected of spreading to an eighth province in Vietnam, but officials have insisted fresh outbreaks of the disease were under control.

 

Veterinary officials in the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau said hundreds of chickens and ducks had died since July 6, particularly in and around the town of Vung Tau.

 

Blood samples from the dead poultry were sent last week to the southern regional veterinary department in Ho Chi Minh City to test for the presence of the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu.

The results were yet to be released.

 

If presence of the virus is confirmed, Ba Ria-Vung Tau would be the eighth province to be affected by bird flu after the government's highly criticised March 30 declaration that the country was free of the disease.

 

The announcement, which came just 15 days after the disease claimed its 16th fatality, prompted charges from international disease control experts that Hanoi was acting prematurely and recklessly.

 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned it could take years to eliminate the virus from the environment. New outbreaks have also been reported in the southern Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh, one of the seven provinces confirmed by the government to be facing a recurrence of the disease.

 

Local veterinary officials said thousands of quails had died since the end of June, with the Cang Long district among the worst affected. Three districts in Can Tho province, also in the Delta region, are also tackling fresh outbreaks.

 

Provincial authorities have ordered the setting up of isolation zones around the areas of infection, the state-run Quan Doi Nhan Dan newspaper reported.

 

According to the latest report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, more than 35,000 chickens and ducks and 13,000 quails have been infected, culled or have died as a result of the virus since April.

 

However, ministry spokesman Bui Quang Anh insisted the situation was under control. "Vietnam is able to control the return of the bird flu epidemic," he told the Tuoi Tre newspaper.

 

Besides Vietnam, Thailand and China have also reported fresh outbreaks in recent weeks.