Vietnam Intensifies Fight against Avian Influenza: Health Ministry

Vietnam’s health authorities have intensified their efforts to combat and prevent avian influenza A/H5N6 from spreading to humans, the state-run Vietnam News newspaper reported on April 8. The Ministry of Health (MoH) has asked authorities in Nghe An Province to take drastic measures to prevent the epidemic after the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported infected poultry in Xuan Nghia Commune, Quy Hop District at the beginning of April. The MoH warned that there was a high risk of the virus spreading from poultry to humans and becoming an epidemic. The health ministry has asked the provincial health department to strengthen surveillance and diagnosis of suspected human cases, and hospitals have been instructed to set up isolation units. The provincial health department has been urged to collaborate with veterinarians and local authorities to supervise the handling of any outbreak. The department said that two poultry farmers from the area who had shown flu-like symptoms had been sent to the Central Tropical Diseases Institute in Hanoi for testing, but the results had come back negative for A/N5N6. MARD reported that no new sick or dead poultry had been reported in the area on Sunday, and the infected birds had already been destroyed. The province has provided 10,000 doses of vaccine for poultry flocks in Nghia Thuan Commune and high risk areas. (Vietnam News Apr 8)