# 4399
Depending on the day you ask, either Indonesia, Egypt or Vietnam appears to be the world’s hotspot for bird flu. I say `appears’ because there are other countries – like China and Myanmar - where surveillance and reporting on such matters is (to put it kindly), sub-optimal.
Although Egypt leads the world this year in the number of reported human infections (14), countries like China, Myanmar, North Korea and Indonesia are notoriously reticent to share information with the rest of the world.
There are a lot of question marks on the map.
In 2004 and 2005, Vietnam was viewed as the country with the worst bird flu problem, reporting 90 cases and 39 deaths. By 2006, however, stringent control measures and public education turned the tide, and that year they reported 0 cases and 0 deaths.
For a while, Vietnam was hailed as a poster child for bird flu control; a model for success. But the H5N1 virus made a comeback in the last half of 2007, and spread widely in 2008.
Since its return in 2007, Vietnam has recorded another 17 deaths.
Currently at least six provinces are reporting recent outbreaks of the H5N1 virus in poultry, and the Ministry of Health has confirmed 3 human infections (1 fatal) since the start of the year.
This morning Commonground, posting on Pandemic Information News and on FluTrackers, has a report this morning of 3 more suspected cases of H5N1 in Khahn Hoa Province along with fears of widespread poultry infections.
H5N1 Khanh Hoa: Announcement of avian influenza H5N1
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 8:44
(CAO) on the afternoon of March 2, 2010, Dr. Le Tuan Phung, Chief-Medical Profession, Khanh Hoa Department of Health said: Currently in Van Ninh district has three patients treated with millions Stock suspected influenza A/H5N1 infection.Samples of three patients with four samples of 4 cases of product exposure to poultry infected with influenza A/H5N1 is being sent for examination at the Pasteur Institute of Nha Trang and are awaiting results. By the time point, Khanh Hoa provincial People's Committee has officially recognized the avian influenza H5N1 in the province two Van Ninh and Ninh Hoa districts.
Since the first outbreak, veterinary science Khanh Hoa Province has destroyed nearly 10 thousand poultry infected with highly pathogenic influenza strains have (HPA1) at Ninh Phung, Ninh Ha (Ninh Hoa), Van Phu Luong Van (Van Ninh). Rate of samples tested were brought from the outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza has infected 100%.
After translation flu outbreak, Chi Khanh Hoa Department of Animal Health have carried pepper spray drug alone, eliminate secondary outbreaks in just one time. More local as well as initiate epidemiological surveys, statistics and increase the total poultry disease surveillance in the whole province. However, control birds in the province of Khanh Hoa met many difficulties.
The article warns against the sale and consumption of “poultry unknown origin”, which is likely a euphemism for smuggled poultry. A practice that is rife in Vietnam, as it is in much of South East Asia.
The borders between these countries are long and often porous.
If infected birds are coming in from across the border – from Laos, Cambodia, or China – it suggests a much wider problem.
Of course, traffic (and the virus) can travel both ways across a border.
Which means, regardless of its origin, the bird flu virus has the potential to spill over to neighboring provinces and even spread to adjacent countries.
Undoubtedly causing a lot of people to watch the situation in Vietnam right now.
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