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The Vietnam News

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Vietnam halts poultry import from neighboring countries

HANOI - The Vietnamese government has decided to temporarily cease the import of fowls and fowl productsfrom neighboring countries, local newspaper Youth reported Tuesday. Under an instruction issued by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai on Monday, relevant agencies and authorities of cities and provinces nationwide are urged to take urgent measures to deal with bird flu which has stricken 136 communes of 18 localities, mainly in the southern region, killing and leading to the forced culling of 254,000 poultry since January.

The measures include culling all fowls in a flock if any dead or sick poultry is spotted in the flock, isolating and detoxifyingaffected areas, forbidding the transport of fowls and their eggs out of the areas, and closely monitoring the slaughtering, processing and carrying poultry and their eggs. The central government and local ones are offering financial assistance to farmers. Under the government's policies, farmers will receive 5,000 Vietnamese dong (VND) (0.3 US dollars) per fowlculled. However, many local authorities can give them up to 15,000VND (0.9 dollars).

The country is also considering the possibility of vaccinating fowls, and researching the use of vaccine for persons. In the first quarter of this year, the National Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute will use bird flu vaccines on monkeys, chickens and miceon trial basis. In late March 2004, Vietnam declared an end to the bird flu outbreak starting in December 2003, which killed or led to the forced culling of 17 percent of its poultry population or 43.2 million fowls.

Xinhuanet - January 18, 2005