February 22, 2012

Various ministries, agencies and localities have been asked by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to step up measures to prevent the wide spread of bird flu epidemic.

So far this year, the bird flu has broken out in 11 provinces and cities and two people in the southern provinces of Kien Giang and Soc Trang have died of A/H5N1 influenza virus.

The Prime Minister (PM) also urged local authorities to boost inspection, especially at poultry slaughtering and processing facilities, and control the trading of poultry products.

All localities were asked to collaborate closely with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the National Steering Committee on Avian Influenza Control and Prevention (NSCAICP) in anti-disease work and fully report the epidemic development to the PM.

The MoH is responsible for supplying chemicals and medicines for local authorities to disinfect the affected areas and treat A/H5N1 flu patients timely. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will join NSCAICP to support localities to timely find and control new outbreaks.

The PM also urged to mass media to update information about the harmful effects of bird flu infection, and advise local residents not to use sick and dead poultry products.

The Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No. one under the MoH is conducting the last phase of a clinical trial of A/H5N1 flu vaccine for humans and expects to produce it next year.

Vietnam has to date reported roughly 121 human infections, including 61 deaths of the disease since the virus first detected here in 2003.