October 15, 2007

 

Cool weather might prompt bird flu, blue ear recurrence in Vietnam's Mekong Delta

 

 

Vietnam's animal health officials warn bird flu and swine diseases might re-appear in the Mekong Delta with the approaching of cooler weather.

 

The Animal Health Department on Thursday said of the 300 ducks on a farm in Tra Cu District, Tra Vinh Province, five dead ducks had been tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus.

 

The flock were unvaccinated and came from different places.

 

Local veterinary workers culled infected water fowl immediately after the blood test results, and quarantined the affected area to prevent the spread of the virus.

 

The National Steering Committee for Avian Flu Control and Prevention is urging provinces and cities nationwide to promote vaccinations for poultry to stem the spread of the virus.

 

Bird flu broke out in Vietnam in May, ravaging provinces across the country. In September, Tra Vinh Province was the last locality in the Mekong region to be declared free of the virus.

 

Local animal health workers in Ca Mau City in the Mekong Delta Province of Ca Mau last week killed nine pigs infected by blue ear disease to prevent further outbreak in the city and surrounding areas.

 

Over the last three weeks, local animal health workers in Ca Mau City culled 56 sick animals and collected blood samples for testing.

 

Medically called Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), the disease first struck the central provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Da Nang City in late June and broke out in the Mekong Delta province of Long An in late July.

 

Local veterinarians have destroyed 32 out of 40 infected pigs on a farm in Can Giuoc District.

 

In the last two days, local veterinarians in Khanh Hoa Province's districts of Dien Khanh, Cam Lam, and Ninh Hoa and Nha Trang City culled 270 pigs infected by the disease.