Eight Provinces Report Bird Flu Outbreaks

Eight Provinces Report Bird Flu Outbreaks
The southern province of Vinh Long with the discovery of a new bird flu outbreak on February 23 has brought the number of the nation’s epidemic-hit cities and provinces to eight.

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The report was delivered by the Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) at a meeting of the National Steering Committee on Bird Flu Control on February 26. MARD Minister Cao Duc Phat rang an alarm bell against the fast spread of the epidemic on both poultry and humans.
He asked responsible agencies to boost information campaigns so as to increase public awareness about the lethal disease, tighten supervision over the epidemic developments, and focus on immunization against local poultry flocks and disinfection on the neighbourhood.
“The Veterinary Department has to facilitate epidemiology operations so as to release early warnings against possible epidemic outbreaks for effective control,” concluded the minister.
He also asked the Ministry of Finance to consider additional funds to help ease farmers’ financial difficulties in culling their poultry flocks and local efforts in epidemic control according to the market prices.
Other seven affected provinces and cities included northern Thai Nguyen, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong , Nam Dinh, Tuyen Quang and Ninh Binh and southern Long An.
Source: VNA