Virulent strain of bird flu hits Vietnam poultry farms

Published 29 December 2008

Until recently Vietnam led the world in H5N1 infection, but drastic measures by the government helped contain the disease; a recent outbreak, coupled with a cold and wet winter, may set back that effort

Bird flu has struck two poultry flocks in northern Vietnam, a newspaper reported Sunday, after authorities warned that the killer virus could re-emerge strongly in the cold and wet winter months. The virulent H5N1 viral strain killed five people in Vietnam early this year, but no new human deaths have been reported since March.

AFP reports that last week the virus struck again in Thai Nguyen city, 50 miles north of the capital Hanoi, where it was found in several dead ducks on one farm and in dead chicken on another, the Tuoi Tre daily said. Veterinary authorities culled 100 ducks and more than 4,000 chicken, said the report quoting local animal health officials.

Northern Vietnam has in recent days been gripped by a cold snap that favors the spread of respiratory diseases because the virus survives longer in the cold and people spend more time close together inside their homes. The Tet lunar New Year festival in January is also considered a high-risk time for the spread of bird flu because the slaughter, trade, and consumption of poultry, and smuggling of birds from neighboring China, rises sharply.

Vietnam’s health ministry last week issued a nationwide bird flu alert, urging cities and provinces to step up detection and epidemic control measures. Communist Vietnam, once the nation worst hit by the H5N1 virus, contained earlier outbreaks through mass poultry vaccination campaigns, the destruction of millions of birds, and public education initiatives.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has since 2003 confirmed 391 human cases of bird flu, of which 247 people have died. In Vietnam 52 people have died, the second highest toll after Indonesia, where the virus has killed 113 people. Bird flu mainly kills animals, but scientists fear it could mutate to jump easily from human to human, sparking a global pandemic.