Monday, January 21, 2008

Vietnam to import 500 mln bird flu vaccine doses this year

HANOI, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam will import 500 million doses of bird flu vaccines for fowls nationwide in 2008, local newspaper Labor on Monday quoted a Vietnamese veterinary agency as reporting.

Vietnam, which has vaccinated chickens and ducks against bird flu viruses in recent years, currently has two localities hit by the disease: northern Thai Nguyen province and southern Tra Vinh province, said the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnam, currently importing bird flu vaccines for fowls mainly from China, plans to mass produce the vaccines in the coming time, according to sources from some local animal health institutes.

Bird flu outbreaks in Vietnam, starting in December 2003, have led to the forced culling of dozens of millions of fowls in the country, said the department.

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