Provincial veterinarians said on January 12 that they culled 1,200 ducklings owned by Hua Van Tuoi in Ngoc Ho village, Tam Nghia commune, Cau Ke district, after having received test results. They said all the ducklings were not vaccinated against bird flu.

The new infection brought the total number of bird flu-hit provinces in the Mekong River Delta to six, after Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Hau Giang, Kien Giang and Vinh Long.

On January 13, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat, who is also head of the National Steering Committee for Bird Flu Control, inspected bird flu prevention work in Kien Giang province. He asked local authorities to closely monitor the transport and trading of chickens and ducks between communes, take serum samples from birds raised in all breeding farms to early detect outbreaks and frequently disinfect breeding farms.

He also underscored the need to enhance information dissemination to raise public awareness about the epidemic.

The same day, Mr Phat made a fact-finding tour of Vi Thuy and Long My districts of Hau Giang province which are being affected by bird flu. It was reported that to date the province has established six checkpoints operating around the clock, isolated and disinfected bird flu-affected areas and provided financial support for farmers who had their birds culled. The province aims to complete the vaccination on the existing flocks of birds by January 15.