October 25, 2004

Vietnamese Farmers Urged to Keep Ducks in Cages to Prevent Bird Flu

Following the fresh outbreak of avian flu in Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, Vietnam's Acting Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat has urged farmers in the region to keep their ducks from migrating to other areas as a preventive measure.

The water-birds, according to veterinarians, are feared to be the "culprits" of avian flu reported in certain farms in the region.

Phat asked localities to learn from the experience of An Giang in caging ducks and geese, particularly during the flood season.

Deputy director of the Animal Health Institute, Le Van Tao said tests for the H5N1 virus conducted on healthy-looking water-birds in affected areas are positive.

A recent survey by the institute put the risk of the outbreak recurring in households in the northern province of Thai Binh, breeding ducks, chickens and pigs, to be 3.6 times higher than in those raising only one species.

More than 9,300 poultry have died of the disease this month in the four Mekong Delta provinces of Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre and Soc Trang, according to the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry's Animal Health Department.

Although the flu was brought under control in most regions of the country, it has broken out again in certain areas in the Mekong Delta over the past month, the department said.

It was difficult to control the spread of disease as farmers in the region have always left their ducks free for easy feeding, local authorities said.

Minister Phat has asked provinces to continue the intensive fight against bird flu for one more month and inspect poultry brought through border gates.

He was speaking at a conference to combat bird flu held in Long An Province on Wednesday.