December 20, 2006

Vietnam hit by bird flu after one-year absence
  

Just over a year after Vietnam has kept itself free of bird flu, the disease struck again, this time in two Mekong Delta provinces, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau.

Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said two provincial administrations were negligent and slow in discovering the outbreaks, which occurred at the start of December.

The disease broke out in Ca Mau's Tran Van Thoi district on December 6, killing 2,520 chicks and ducklings, all of which later tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus.

This was followed by the death of five duck flocks a day later in Hoa Binh district in Bac Lieu, all of which tested positive for H5N1.

The birds had not been vaccinated because they were hatched illegally, the committee said.

Authorities are worried that the virus could spread quickly since the carcasses were not properly disposed of when the outbreak came to light. The two provinces were ordered to quarantine and sterilize their infected areas.

Since there had been no reports of outbreaks in surrounding areas, local agencies were tasked to trace the source of the outbreak.

Vietnam has vaccinated some 140 million poultry against H5N1.