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Vietnam intensifies fowl vaccination against bird flu
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-08-18 15:31
Vietnam has targeted to complete bird flu vaccination among poultry
nationwide by mid-November, local newspaper New Hanoi on Thursday quoted the
National Steering Committee on Anti-Bird Flu as saying.
Fowls, mainly chickens and ducks, in 47 out of 64 cities and provinces must
be vaccinated against bird flu viruses, including the deadly strain H5N1, for
the first time between Sept. 1 and Nov.15. They will receive further vaccination
until next year.
The total fund for vaccinating over 200 million fowls in the 2005-2006 is
estimated at 700 billion Vietnamese dong (44.3 million US dollars). Vietnam will
have had 415 million doses of vaccines, products of China and the Netherlands,
in stock by late next month.
According to local veterinary agencies, up to 70 percent of waterfowls in the
southern Mekong delta have been recently tested positive to H5N1. Vietnam has
culled over 1,300 fowls in the eight localities of Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Can Tho,
Tra Vinh, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Bac Ninh and Hanoi since early April.
Since the first bird flu patient was detected in Vietnam in late 2003, up to
91 human cases of infections, including 41 fatalities, have been reported in 31
cities and provinces.
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