November 17, 2005

Vietnam approves another US$82.6 million for bird flu fight

Vietnam's Prime Minister Phan Van Khai approved another VND1.3 billion (about US$82.6 million) for the fight against bird flu in the country, state-controlled media reported Thursday.

The bulk of the money - VND1.06 billion - would be allocated to the Ministry of Health, Tien Phong newspaper reported. The remainder would be divided among the agriculture, defense and public security and public transport ministries, it said.

The additional funding would be used to upgrade medical facilities, buy more equipment, and stockpile medicines for the treatment of bird flu patients, said Health Ministry official Pham Hung.

Vietnam has been battling the H5N1 virus since it emerged across poultry farms in late 2003. At least 64 people have died in the region from bird flu, with two-thirds of those deaths in Vietnam.

The country has taken increasingly tough measures against bird flu as the winter months approach, when the virus is most likely to spread. At least 13 provinces have reported new outbreaks over the past month.

Vietnam has vaccinated 120 million poultry since it launched the nationwide campaign in August. The last of some 45 tonnes of bird flu vaccine from China would arrive in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City by this weekend, said Pham Chung, deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City's animal health department.

Southern Ho Chi Minh City would also ban pet birds in households, said Huynh Huu Loi, director of the city's animal health department. Families must remove their pet birds from the city by Nov 30. Any bird found after that period would be confiscated and destroyed, he said.

Both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have ordered the cull of all live poultry by this weekend. The government is offering compensation of VND15,000 a bird for owners who turned in their poultry. Anyone caught with poultry after this period would face an undetermined fine.