August 28, 2006

 

Vietnam reports bird flu in poultry

 

 

Bird flu has been detected in Vietnamese poultry for the second time this month, igniting fears of a possible resurgence of the H5N1 virus in the country that has been touted for beating it back, officials said Saturday (Aug 26).

 

The virus was found in one duck in the southern Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, Mai Van Hiep, director of the provincial animal health bureau said, adding it was among eight samples taken from a farm of 45 ducks in Thanh Phu town.

 

All the ducks, none of which showed any sign of bird flu symptoms, were destroyed Saturday morning after the test result came back two days ago, Hiep said. The farm and surrounding areas were disinfected, he added.

 

Earlier this month, the bird flu virus was also detected in two ducks and two geese in random testing in Thanh Phu town in the same province.

 

Hiep said more than 300 samples of poultry were taken for testing so far this year, and five tested positive for bird flu.

 

"The infected ducks are still healthy," Hiep said. "It was a big problem for us to control the virus from spreading."

 

The government imposed a ban on hatching and raising water fowl, which can carry the virus without showing symptoms. However, the ban was largely ignored by farmers. There is an estimated 50 million to 70 million

water fowl in the country.

 

"The results of surveillance recently showed that a highly virulent bird flu virus is circulating in the water fowl, particularly in the water fowl which were not vaccinated," the Animal Health Department said on its website.

 

"The risk of bird flu resurgence in coming time therefore is very high, particularly in provinces of high poultry density," it said.

 

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung put the nation on high alert after new flare-ups were reported in neighbouring countries. Dung had urged local governments to tighten control along the land borders to prevent poultry from being smuggled into the country.