According to MARD, the animal husbandry sector in Vietnam has developed dramatically but animal health services have not yet met its requirements. As a result, there are more cases of diseases being transferred from animals to humans.

MARD’s Deputy Minister Diep Kinh Tan said that over the past five years, more than VND3,931 billion (roughly US$201.7 million) has been allocated by the State and international organisations on training medical workers and building testing centres. However, he said, the country still faces numerous challenges due to the spread of the deadly H5N1 virus.

The participants in the seminar discussed measures to minimise the risk to public health and deal with the bird flu virus in both animals and humans.

They focused their discussions on how to reduce virus transmissions from animals to people and the environment.  It is also essential to restructure the agricultural sector in line with the Vietnamese Good Animal Husbandry Practices (VietGAHP), they added.

The delegates also stressed the need to effectively manage the animal health sector, stabilise the price of vaccines and control cross-border infections.