October 19, 2007

Vietnam PM reissues bird flu poultry breeding ban

Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has reissued a ban on poultry breeding in cities on Thursday (October 18) amid fears of new bird flu outbreaks in the coming winter season.

PM Dung also urged backyard farmers to shift to industrial poultry raising and hatching alongside added vigilance about the dreaded virus, the government said on its official website.

Vietnam has reported only one recent bird flu outbreak in southern Tra Vinh province this month, but experts warn the virus might come back in coming months.

Bui Quang Anh, head of the national animal health department said he worries another nationwide epidemic as outbreaks usually occur during winter.

Vietnam controlled the H5N1 virus with mass culls and vaccination campaigns when it was first hit by bird flu starting in 2003. In May this year, the disease again spread to 18 out of 64 provinces and municipalities.

Four people have been killed by bird flu this year in Vietnam, bringing the human death toll in the country to 46 since the virus first broke out.