July 29, 2004
Bird Flu Spreads To Northern Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City
The second wave of bird flu to hit Vietnam is suspected of having spread to the country's north and into its commercial capital after wreaking havoc on poultry in 11 southern provinces, officials said Wednesday.
Some 400 ducks from three farms were destroyed Tuesday in northern Bac Ninh province after antigen samples tested positive for the H5 strain of the virus, said Nguyen Van Lung, director of the provincial animal health bureau.
Another 1,400 ducks were destroyed at a different farm on July 12 after samples there twice tested positive for H5, he said. Lung said authorities will continue to cull the remaining 600 ducks from five farms.
"The presence of H5 in the ducks showed that the danger of bird flu recurrence is high," Lung said "That's why we have to act quickly."
Lung said authorities have quarantined and disinfected nine affected farms and suspended sales and transportation of poultry. Samples from surrounding villages will be taken for testing.
Meanwhile, authorities in southern Ho Chi Minh City, the nation's business capital and home to 8 million people, said 500 ducks have been destroyed in the suburban district of Binh Chanh after antigen samples taken from 15 farms showed they were infected with the H5 strain of bird flu.
The remaining 7,300 ducks at the 15 farms will be culled over the next week, an official from the city animal health department said on condition of anonymity. Farmers in the district have been warned not to raise poultry in the next six months to prevent the disease from recurring.
In the last four months, Vietnam has reported the recurrence of bird flu in 11 southern provinces, with more than 50,000 birds having died or been culled. The devastating avian flu swept across Asia earlier this year, forcing the slaughter of 100 million poultry.
The deadly virus also jumped to humans, killing 16 in Vietnam and eight in Thailand. In recent weeks, the virus has also resurfaced in Thailand, China and Indonesia.
