November 18, 2004

New Bird Flu Infections Reported in Vietnam

A small number of chickens infected with the bird flu virus strain of H5 has been discovered in Vietnam recently. The country remains highly alert for potential new outbreaks in winter when weather conditions favor the development of viruses.

Twenty chickens raised by a household in Binh Thuy district in the southern city of Can Tho were found to have been affected by H5 in mid-November. The fowls have already been killed, according to the Department of Animal Health.

To prevent new outbreaks, Vietnam is intensifying stringent measures such as frequently disinfecting farms, monitoring the transport and import of fowls and their eggs via border gates, as well as raising public awareness of the disease nationwide, especially in the southern Mekong Delta. It plans to vaccinate poultry if bird flu resurgence at a large-scale is reported.

The department said in September 2004 that after having reappeared in 11 southern localities since June 2004, bird flu was no longer active there.

In late March 2004, Vietnam declared an end to bird flu that had killed 17 percent of its poultry population during the previous outbreak starting in December 2003. A total of 43.2 million fowls nationwide either died or were culled, causing direct losses of 1.3 trillion Vietnamese dong (82.8 million US dollars) to the local poultry industry.