June 12, 2007

 

Vietnam controls FMD but unsuccessful in bird flu outbreak

 

 

The Vietnam Department of Animal Health said while it successfully controlled foot-and-mouth disease, the country continues to battle more bird flu outbreaks in several localities in recent days.

 

Foot-and-mouth disease, which had been affecting cattle in various spots nationwide, has not occurred over the past 21 days, the duration for an infected locality to be declared free from the disease.

 

In April, the government had called for measures tightening control over the epidemic as well as quarantining afflicted cattle as the plague continues to ravage 13 cities and provinces.

 

Meanwhile, bird flu has spread to 16 cities and provinces with northern Phu Tho province being the latest locality stricken by the virus.

 

Others include Son La, Vinh Phuc, Hung Yen, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Ha Nam, Thai Binh, Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh, Quang Ninh and Haiphong in the north; Nghe An and Quang Nam in the central, Dong Thap and Can Tho in the south.

 

Relaxed regulations on hatching and transport of waterfowls as well as poor vaccination were blamed for the outbreak.

 

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) June 8 revealed key findings in a joint field study with Vietnamese authorities in Nam Dinh province, where outbreaks of the H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) have been reported.

 

The reports said that current unexpected HPAI outbreaks are due to recent increased numbers of grazing ducks directly associated with the rice harvest. Many of these ducks have not been vaccinated for H5N1.

 

According to the FAO, ducks are often hatched in nearby provinces and moved to Nam Dinh to graze on paddies after the rice harvest.

 

The FAO fully supports the decision to end the ban on waterfowl hatcheries which took effect in March, but recommended all ducks for vaccination and measures should be taken to ensure that all hatcheries meet basic bio-security standards.

 

The FAO is also discouraging the operation of small hatcheries.

 

In the case of Nam Dinh province, the investigation team noted that the release of young ducks onto paddy fields after an earlier vaccination campaign appeared effective as few chicken farms have been affected.

 

However, the unvaccinated ducks indicate it did not follow with the government's campaign on massive vaccination to combat bird flu.

 

The FAO also confirmed the effectiveness of the current vaccines as the agency currently works with the Vietnamese government to prevent the further spread of the virus.