The government sent Monday dispatches to provinces, especially border localities, to demand them to carry out strict measures to contain the infectious bird flu that may break out in Vietnam.

At last week’s conference with the participation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Ministry of Health, and relevant agencies, officials judged that Vietnam may suffer an outbreak of avian influenza in the coming time if no adequate efforts are made now.

Recently-emerging avian influenza viruses in Vietnam, China, and regional nations can be named as H7 type A, H7N9, H7N1, H7N3, H7N7, H5N1, and H5N2.

The government requires local authorities to stop fowls from being illegally imported into Vietnam, keep updated with latest information about the flu, and give guidance to normal citizens to avoid social anxiety.

Professional agencies are also advised to make quick reactions to sterilize infected areas.

High concern

In the first three months of this year, 15 hotbeds of bird flu have been discovered in 15 communes of four provinces, including swallow farms in Ninh Thuan in the central region and a pheasant farm in Tien Giang in the Mekong Delta, said Pham Van Dong – chief of the Department of Animal Health under MARD.

In addition, last year’s survey on 425 live poultry markets in 30 provinces showed that 29 localities had bird flu type A viruses on fowls and 20 localities had H5N1 viruses.

Especially, two samples on live ducks in An Giang and Dong Thap provinces were infected with H7 type A viruses and six other samples got infected with H7 viruses in Can Tho and Hau Giang.

The new strain of H7 virus has been on the increase in many nations, including China. However, the H7 strain of virus in Vietnam is different from that of H7N9 found in China, according to Mr. Dong.

Besides Vietnam, other nations like South Africa, Australia, Mexico, Taiwan of China, China, South Korea, and Mongolia have had the avian influenza.

Hanoi authorities suggested setting up a hotline for coordination between the city and seven border localities in the north: Cao Bang, Lang Son, Ha Giang, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, and Quang Ninh.

Hanoi consumes 800 tons of poultry meat a day and just 60 percent of the volume comes from local products while the remaining is supplied by other provinces, according to Hoang Duc Hanh, director of Hanoi Department of Health. In addition, Hanoi receives 15,000 international tourists a day on average, 2,000 of them from China.

So far, China has had 44 patients infected with H7N9, 10 of whom died.