Bird flu spreading in Vietnam

Over the past two days, more poultry deaths from bird flu have been reported in Vietnam's Hau Giang, Ca Mau and Bac Lieu provinces, and a new infection site has been discovered in Vi Thuy district.

A total of three communes in two districts had bird flu, said Nguyen Hien Trung, head of Hau Giang's animal health department.

Luong Ngoc Lan, head of Bac Lieu's department of agriculture and rural development, said more poultry deaths had been reported in Hong Dan, Hoa Binh, Vinh Loi, and Gia Rai districts on Sunday.

Four people in Bac Lieu and two in Soc Trang provinces have been hospitalized with bird flu symptoms.

Vietnam's human death toll from the disease is second only to Indonesia, at 42, while tens of thousands of fowl have been slaughtered across the country to prevent the spread of the bird flu virus.

Vietnam recently launched a national campaign to decrease the prevalence of the disease.

Meanwhile, the World Bank has approved a US$10 million grant for a program to combat bird flu.

Avian influenza has killed 157 of the 261 people it has infected globally since 2003.

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Editor WorldPoultry