# 1837
Two stories out of Vietnam this morning.
First, that nation is importing 60 million doses of bird flu vaccine (for poultry) from China this month. Vietnam began its nationwide vaccination campaign in August 2005, and attributes much of their success in containing the virus to that practice.
Over the past year, however, this strategy has seen some cracks appear in its veneer with renewed outbreaks of the virus around the country. Last week an inquiry was ordered into vaccinated poultry that reportedly died from the bird flu virus.
Vietnam imports bird flu vaccine from China
Sixty million bird flu vaccine doses are expected to arrive in Vietnam Saturday from China, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Friday.
The ministry said it had to import the vaccine this month instead of in April as planned, because of increasing bird flu outbreaks in the country.
Ten provinces, mostly in the north, have reported outbreaks of the disease this year.
The Mekong Delta risked a massive outbreak due to farming of free-range ducks in many provinces and poor control of poultry transport and trade, according to health officials earlier this week.
Of the 106 human bird flu cases confirmed in Vietnam since 2003, 52 have been fatal.
In related news, the Health Ministry announced Friday the GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) pledged to aid nearly US$2.15 million for a massive measles vaccination program here.
Meanwhile, concerns are running high that April and May could see massive outbreaks of bird flu, particularly in the Mekong Delta area.
Officials are blaming poor compliance with bird flu regulations and are demanding better enforcement.
Southern metro gets tough on bird flu
District leaders should beef up measures against the illegal slaughter and transport of bird flu-infected poultry to contain the spread of the H5N1 virus, said a Ho Chi Minh City vice mayor Saturday.
At an emergency meeting on combating bird flu, vice chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Tai said several districts had been too lax in fighting poultry smugglers and illicit slaughterhouses.
He lambasted leaders of Go Vap District in particular, accusing the authorities for allowing illegal poultry slaughtering and transport to continue right under their noses.
Tai asked city hall to keep a closer eye on the development of any bird flu outbreaks, which have at times been described as epidemic.
He asked agencies concerned to punish those that flout anti-bird flu directives.
The city’s Pasteur Institute also announced Thursday that a man’s Wednesday death in which bird flu had allegedly been the cause was in fact a case of pneumonia, not the avian virus.
Of the 106 human bird flu cases confirmed in Vietnam since 2003, 52 have been fatal.
The latest confirmed victim was an 11-year-old boy who died last week in the northern province of Ha Nam.
Ten provinces, mostly in the north, have reported outbreaks of the disease this year, but health officials said Monday that the Mekong Delta faced the risk of a massive outbreak due to free-range duck breeding and the poor control of poultry transport and trade in several provinces.
Source: SGGP
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