Vietnam negotiates with Russia on importing bird flu vaccines

Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is negotiating with Russia on the purchase of the bird flu vaccines which will be used nationwide in late 2006 and early 2007.

To be more active in vaccination, Vietnam plans to use locally developed bird flu vaccines in the coming years. Two local firms have so far produced 200,000 doses of vaccines on trial basis, according to the Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnam has so far this year vaccinated nearly 134 million poultry nationwide. Testing of 10,621 specimens from vaccinated chickens and ducks indicated that 75 percent have developed antibodies against bird flu virus strain H5.

Vietnam had a total poultry population of 254 million by late 2002, and it has grown annually by an average of 6.5 percent. Bird flu outbreaks, which began in December 2003, have led to the forced culling of tens of millions of birds.

The last outbreak of bird flu among poultry in Vietnam was in December 2005, according to the department.