Agriculture ministry urges bird flu control

Friday, February 27, 2009 14:08:

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat Thursday asked ministries, sectors and localities to apply strict bird flu controls next month.

The ministry has instructed relevant agencies to build a series of new check-points along Vietnam’s borders to prevent animal diseases from entering the country, Phat said at a meeting held in Hanoi, chaired by Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung. The ministry also suggested that provinces, which lack vaccines, should apply to the Department of Animal Health today for additional supplies, Phat said. So far this year, 13 provinces and cities have been badly hit by bird flu, with a total of more than 52,000 fowl culled, equalling nearly half of last year’s total, department head Bui Quang Anh said at the meeting. Currently, 11 bird flu-hit localities still haven’t controlled the epidemic, he said. Over the past two months, bird flu has also infected three people in the country, killing one of them, Anh said.

20 Vietnam