Bird flu kills hundreds of ducks, chickens in Vietnam

Veterinarians vacinate ducks in Kien Xuong District’s Vu Cong Commune, in the northern province of Thai Binh.—VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue

Bird flu kills hundreds of ducks, chickens in Tra Vinh Province

29-12-2007
VNS (Hanoi)

HCM CITY — Bird flu has killed hundreds of ducks and chickens in southern Tra Vinh Province.

The Viet Nam Animal Health Department has confirmed that the deaths this week in the province’s Tra Vinh Town, Chau Thanh, Cau Ngang and Cang Long districts were the result of the deadly H5N1 virus.

Some had not been vaccinated while the remainder were injected just two or three days before dying.

The vaccine needs at least seven days to help the birds develop sufficient antibodies against the virus.

Earlier, Animal Health Department officials announced that bird flu had been controlled.

But department director Bui Quang Anh had warned of its possible recurrence in the cooler weather.

The risk was heightened because poultry was being smuggled across the borders with China and Cambodia, he said.

The uncontrolled farming of free-range ducks also created risk.

The director said Mekong-Delta farmers must carefully monitor free-range ducks and increase the vaccination of poultry to prevent another outbreak.

Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said it was now the peak season for the spread of the bird flu virus.

The ministry was encouraging the monitoring of farm, household and commune poultry and the immediate notification of bird flu to veterinarians.

The minister has also instructed city and provincial administrators to station inspectors at border checkpoints to curb poultry smuggling.

Animal Health Department officials have recommended that small, scattered free-range duck farming be made large-scale to ensure hygienic produce.

Preventive Medicine Department director Nguyen Huy Nga said the death of a four-year-old child infected with the deadly H5N1 virus showed inspection remained lax.

The child had died even though the local veterinary office had reported dead poultry in his precinct two months ago.

The boy, from northern Son La Province, died in Ha Noi’s National Paediatric Hospital last Tuesday.

WorldHealth Organi-sation’s confirmation on Thursday of the world’s first human-to-human transmission, in Pakistan, shows the danger of the virus could heighten.