August 18, 2005

Vietnam plans to complete poultry vaccination in November this year

Vietnam plans to complete vaccinating all its poultry by mid-November before the country's Lunar New Year festival in early 2006, the government said.

The government added that if vaccinations were not completed by then, the flu season in winter would result in a very dangerous situation.

Vietnam required farmers to keep vaccinated birds for 28 days before putting them on sale to ensure they were healthy.

Bird flu has reportedly killed 43 people in Vietnam, with 22 of the victims dying since the H5N1 virus returned during the end of 2004.

Poultry in the remaining 11 Mekong Delta provinces and birds in Ho Chi Minh City would be vaccinated from September this year, the government said.