Almost 4,000 chickens dead or culled amid bird flu fears
HANOI - Almost 4,000 chickens have died or been culled in southern Vietnam after showing symptoms similar to bird flu, which has killed 20 people here since late last year, officials said on Tuesday. The carcasses of 3,680 chickens that died or were culled on farms in the Mekong Delta's Can Tho city had been destroyed as part of measures to contain the disease, said an official from the province's veterinary department.
They had all shown "similar symptoms as those victims of the avian flu virus H5N1", he said, asking to not be identified. A one-kilometre isolation zone had been set up around the farms involved, the official said. Tests for the virus had also been carried out on several other private farms in the area. "We are waiting for the results," he said. Officials in neighbouring An Giang and Hau Giang provinces said some chickens had also died there but did not provide details.
Vietnam declared in October that it had brought its latest outbreak of avian influenza under control. It first made such an announcement on March 30 but had to admit later that the declaration had been premature after three people, including two children died, after being infected in August. Experts say avian influenza has entrenched itself in much of Asia and is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
United Nations health agencies and the Vietnamese government will next month set up a permanent task-force to coordinate efforts against bird flu, including immediate reactions to further outbreaks and long-term surveillance, in particular in the agricultural sector.
Agence France Presse - December 22, 2004
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