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| The Ministry of Health has warned of the possible intrusion of avian influenza A (H7N9) into Vietnam (Photo: VNA) |
Provinces of Lai Chau, Nam Dinh and HCM City work to prevent avian flu intrusion
The Ministry of Health has warned of the possible intrusion of avian influenza A (H7N9) into Vietnam as the virus is raging in neighbouring China and Cambodia. Provinces of Lai Chau, Nam Dinh and HCM City are making efforts to curb outbreaks of avian flu virus. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the avian influenza A (H7N9) outbreak in China is the fifth since the virus was first detected in 2013 and the largest so far. Between October 2016 and February 19, 2017, 425 infections in human were reported, mostly in China's Guangxi, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces close to Vietnam. The figure is rising. At the same time, Cambodia's Svey Rieng province, which borders Vietnam's southern provinces of Long An and Tay Ninh, is also struggling with the virus. Tran Dac Phu, head of the Protective Medicine Department under the Ministry of Health, said no cases of influenza A virus subtypes H7N9, H5N8, H5N1 in humans had been found so far, but two nests of subtype H5N1 and H5N6 were detected the provinces of Bac Lieu, Nghe An and Nam Dinh. Dam Xuan Thanh, Vice Director of the Department for Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that Truc Ninh district in Nam Dinh province announced on February 20 the destruction of 4,600 ducks with A (H5N1) virus. Meanwhile, the WHO reported that avian influenza A (H7N9) has become stronger after receiving China's gene sequencing report on two human infections in Guangdong province. Amidst the alarming situation, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has issued an urgent direction on the prevention and control of the epidemic, asking for the involvement of all the political system. Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long requested the whole sector to prepare to tackle all epidemic scenarios, including those with no human infection cases, human infections without human to human transfers, infections with human transferal, and epidemic outbreak in the community. Training courses will also be held for health officials, while treatment equipment will be prepared. He added that the sector will establish a network of health care facilities capable of giving avian influenza virus treatment across the country, while strengthening communications to raise public awareness on protective measures against the virus. Bordering Lai Chau works to prevent avian flu intrusion The northern province of Lai Chau, which borders China's Yunnan province, is rolling out drastic measures to cope with high risks of avian flu spreading from China through some border gates and gateways. Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Do Ngoc An has asked the Department of Health to prepare isolation areas, medicine and equipment to provide emergency aid and treatment to bird flu infection cases if necessary. An ambulatory team for the prevention and control of the disease has been strengthened to stand ready for any infections, while local officials are asked to tighten supervision for early detection of cases in the community. The provincial Department of Preventive Medicine has also worked with interdisciplinary agencies at the border gates to perform health checks on people crossing the gates, while rolling out communications on preventive measures against the virus. The provincial leader also requested the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to keep a close watch on the prevention and control of bird flu in poultry as well as the transportation and trade of livestock and poultry products. Meanwhile, the authorized agencies is asked to coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to investigate and handle poultry smugglers, while encouraging locals to report immediately suspected cases in poultry. Nam Dinh work to hinder spread of A/H5N1 virus The northern province of Nam Dinh is making efforts to curb outbreaks of the A/H5N1 avian flu virus, which have been recorded in Vu Ban and Truc Ninh districts. he local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said the disease has hit the province several times since 2013. n March 2013, the virus was detected in Yen Phu commune, Y Yen district, causing the destruction of 267 domesticated birds to prevent the disease spreading. It reappeared in February 2014, between January and October 2015, and in December 2016, leading to the deaths of 5,230 birds. Since the beginning of 2017, the number of culled poultry has exceeded 9,100. According to Hoang To Nga, deputy head of the local agricultural body, shifting weather between seasons coupled with farmers' neglect of vaccinations and small-scale farming were the major causes of the outbreaks. Waterfowl farming areas, poultry markets and former disease-hit areas are predicted to be at high risk of infection in the coming months, especially April and May. The local steering committee for disease prevention has worked to tighten regulations on food safety at slaughterhouses and markets, and urged every district to prepare for outbreaks. Local districts have been implementing a state-funded campaign of 1.5 million vaccine injections for poultry in disease-hit localities, while farmers have been asked to shift to concentrated farming away from residential areas. HCM City on alert against bird flu outbreaks  | The municipal administration has asked local authorities to urgently take preventive measures
against a possible A/H5N1 bird flu outbreak (Photo: sggp.org.vn) |
The HCM City administration has asked local authorities to urgently take preventive measures against a possible A/H5N1 bird flu outbreak. The Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has recorded 13 bird flu infections in the last 21 days at 15 households in seven provinces' 11 communes. Of these there was one case of A/H5N6 in the central province of Quang Ngai, and 12 cases of A/H5N1 in Nghe An, Nam Dinh, An Giang, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang and Dong Nai provinces. In the city, some localities have ignored the need to inspect, monitor and take preventive measures against the bird flu threat, according the HCM City People's Committee. There are about 160 sites in the city's 15 districts where live poultry is illegally traded, and not closely controlled. District authorities and other agencies have been ordered to report by March 2 on what they have done to deal with trading in live poultry in their respective localities. The city's Department of Animal Health has been asked to take samples and evaluate the spread of bird flu in houses with birds' nests, bird clubs, amusement parks and farms. In the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, two cases of A/H5N1 have been recorded. About 800 ducks were killed in Thoai Son district's Phu My Dong commune. In Phu Tan district's Tan Trung commune, about 80 infected chickens were killed. The province has provided over 642,000 vaccine doses for poultry and sprayed chemicals in the infected areas and their vicinity. Tran Tien Hiep, head of the province's animal health department, said they have petitioned Department of Finance provide an additional two million vaccine doses. Preventive methods The Department of Animal Health has warned that there is a high risk of the spread of bird flu strains hitherto not seen in the country such as A/H7N9, A/H5N2 and A/H5N8 via border crossing. The department says illegal poultry sales and transportation via border crossing is not tightly controlled in provinces sharing a border with China, and this poses a high risk of bird flu viruses entering Vietnam. "The localities should be active in prevention and controlling the threat of bird flu outbreaks, strengthen controls, strictly tackle illegal poultry imports, and closely monitor the situation to ensure timely action against outbreaks." The department established 8 rapid response teams last week as the threat of an A/H7N9 bird flu outbreak increased. On February 26, the Agriculture Ministry held a seminar on preventive measures to be taken against the spread of the A/H7N9 virus via the border in the northern province of Lang Son. So far, Vietnam has recorded no human H7N9 infections. At least 270 H7N9 human infections had been reported in China, with 87 fatalities. Most cases were around the Yangtze and Pearl river deltas.
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