In an urgent dispatch issued Thursday, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has requested south central Ninh Thuan province authorities to declare an H5N1 avian flu epidemic and destroy all the infected birds. H5N1 avian flu has broken out among swallows bred in two centers in Ninh Thuan from March 28 and has developed into an epidemic that can spread to other localities, the dispatch said. Therefore, the provincial People’s Committee should declare the epidemic, send samples of the dead birds for testing, and pray chemicals to disinfect all affected areas, the ministry said in the dispatch. The Veterinary Office for Zone 6 also said it has asked the provincial Veterinary Sub-department to seal the entire swallow nests weighing 20 kg at two breeding centers, where more than 5,000 swallows have died since late March and a number of the dead bird samples have been teased positive with H5N1. Although there is no evidence that these nests have been infected, they will be put under heat treatment for safety purposes, said Nguyen Xuan Binh, director of the Office. They will be heated to 70 Celsius degrees in an oven for 30-50 minutes so that pathogens can be destroyed, Binh said, adding that the nests will later be checked again by veterinary officers. In related developments, the People’s Council of Ho Chi Minh City, where there are many swallow breeders, held a meeting with concerned agencies yesterday to discuss measures to prevent H5N1 bird flu outbreaks among the birds. Nguyen Phuoc Trung, deputy head of the city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, reported that nine bird samples in Districts 6 and 7 are being tested.

The city Veterinary Sub-department has called for support from authorities of all districts so that the collection of samples at all swallow breeders in the city can be completed by the end of this month.