EU sends expert to Vietnam to help in bird flu battle
The European Commission said Thursday it was sending an animal health expert to Vietnam to help fight the outbreak of birdy flu there.
The EU expert was dispatched in response to a call by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and others for international assistance in tackling the spread of the disease in several Asian countries.
"He will work with the Vietnamese authorities as part of a WHO lead team and provide advice on how to eradicate the disease from the country's poultry farms," said a commission statement.
The Vietnamese government said Thursday that avian influenza has hit three more of Vietnam's 64 provinces and cities, taking the number affected to 31, amid criticism that some areas were not tackling the disease properly.
The European Union agreed last Friday to ban chicken from Thailand after the outbreak there. On Wednesday this week the Brussels commission, the EU's executive arm, suspended imports of pet birds from Southeast Asia.
Agence France Presse - January 29, 2004.
|