September 21, 2012

Vietnam stops poultry transport to control bird flu spread

Aiming to curb the spread of bird flu virus, Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has ordered a temporary halt on transporting fowls to the southern region through the central province of Quang Ngai and Kon Tum.

The move was taken to cope with the threat of bird flu expansion from the north to the south, especially in the Mekong Delta provinces, said Pham Van Dong, deputy head of the ministry's Animal Health Department.

The new H5N1 virus strain is very toxic, the department said, adding that it is lethal to both animals and humans.

Currently, bird flu disease has broken out in five Northern provinces of Bac Kan, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Tuyen Quang and three central provinces of Quang Ngai, Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh.