Bird flu breaks out again in Viet Nam

Avian flu (A/H5N1) has broken out in Vit Nam`s Dien Bien Province, killing flocks of poultry in nine households.



Health experts are now worried about the risk of the disease mutating with swine flu (A/H1N1) and creating a double whammy effect - for animals and people.



They said the situation could become more serious if the smuggling of pigs, cattle and poultry was not stopped. Border localities are now cracking down on the practice.



Hoang Van Nam, Viet Nam`s deputy head of the ministry of agriculture and rural development`s veterinary department, said nearly 3,000 birds had been incinerated to try and stop the disease spreading.



According to the ministry of health, the most recent human death from avian flu was in March. This year, the disease has killed four people.



Since 2003, when the first case of avian flu was discovered in Viet Nam, it has killed 55 people, one of the highest death tolls from the disease in the region.



It has also killed hundreds of thousands of chickens and ducks.



More than 3.5 tonnes of chickens without certificates of origin have just been confiscated by inspectors from Ha Noi`s agriculture and rural department on their way from Quang Ninh Province to Ha Noi.



The department said that those violating regulations on importing poultry and cattle to Ha Noi would be severely punished.



Since the beginning of the year, Ha Noi veterinary inspectors have checked nearly 10 million chickens and cattle, 1 million eggs and 1,000 tonnes of meat imported through veterinary quarantine stations and city abattoirs.



The department has fined smugglers a total of 8 million dong (US$445,000) and culled the suspect meat.



Nguyen Huy Dang, deputy director of the department, said none of the meat had quarantine stamps.



He said a lack of inspectors meant the department could not regularly check the situation - that smugglers carried their poultry and cattle on back roads to avoid detection.



This indicated that up to 80 per cent of poultry and cattle transported to and through Ha Noi was sold without any checks.





Viet Nam News/Asia News Network