December 8, 2005

Vietnam's Ha Giang hit by bird flu
 

Vietnam's northern Ha Giang province has reported bird flu in 41 poultry in Bac Quang district. The birds that died in late November tested positive for the H5 strain of bird flu, the Department of Animal Health said.

In the northern Yen Bai province, specimens from poultry suspected with bird flu were being tested for the virus.

Meanwhile, Hanoi, the three northern provinces of Thai Binh, Hoa Binh and Hung Yen, and the two southern provinces of Bac Lieu and Long An, have been declared free of bird flu. These regions have not detected any new outbreaks for at least 21 days, the longest incubation period for the H5N1 virus, the department said.

Authorities have also yet to confirm whether a three-year-old boy from the southern Tien Giang province was infected with bird flu.