Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on August 30 instructed local authorities in the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands to prevent illegal poultry trafficking across borders as well as tightening controls over the incubation and outdoor husbandry of waterfowls.

He also asked local authorities to instruct all relevant agencies to reinforce supervision at border gates, to cull any illegally imported domestic birds, and to take preventive measures under guidelines from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to avoid any new outbreaks.

In his message, the Prime Minister warned that recent outbreaks of bird flu and human influenza type-A (H5N1) in neighboring countries have been complex and could spread to Vietnam.

The Ministry of Health has asked centrally-run provincial and municipal health departments to establish task forces responsible for combating bird flu and human avian influenza if they break out.  

In an urgent telegram, the ministry asked the departments to enhance the capacity of district hospitals to isolate and treat patients contracting influenza virus type A (H5N1), and local medical centres to coordinate closely with the veterinary agency to monitor the development of bird flu outbreaks in villages, communes, wards and households.

Localities having international border gates will tighten controls over the passage of travelers from affected or suspected areas to stamp out any signs of bird flu recurrence. They will instruct functional agencies to closely monitor human cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

In fact, many cities and provinces do not care much about the high risk of a possible bird flu recurrence. Hanoians still buy live poultry in major markets in Long Bien district despite the municipal People’s Committee’s ban on live poultry trade in the urban area. Locals still eat ducks without knowing that two samples of duck taken at Tan Trieu market in Hanoi’s outlying district of Thanh Tri tested positive for the H5 viral strain.

Many countries in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Cambodia and Laos have been confronted with the spread of bird flu. Recently identified cases of bird flu infection in southern Thailand showed that the virus is still hiding elsewhere in the region. Illegal trading in poultry which rests with certain segments of the population, may lead to a bird flu recurrence.

G. Ginburg, a coordinator of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), said illegal raising poultry and trading in birds and related products is a big challenge for the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development and the veterinary sector of Vietnam. He advised the Vietnamese government to priotitise the fight against bird flu, particularly after the H5N1 virus showed signs of developing into other strains. He said the Government should mobilise all necessary resources to combat bird flu by supporting and training farmers and providing equipment for local medical clinics.