Since the beginning of this month, there have been 12 bird flu plagued localities including Nghe An, Nam Dinh, Son La, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Dong Thap, Ninh Binh, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Ha Nam and the cities of Hai Phong and Can Tho.

Around 63 cities and provinces in the country have been conducting the first round of vaccination in 2007.

Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat, on May 30, ordered cities and provinces throughout the country to take urgent measures to combat and contain the spread of bird flu.

In a dispatch released the same day, the Minister who is also Director of the National Steering Committee for Avian Influenza Prevention and Control, requested that municipal and provincial People’s Committees, ministries and agencies give top priority to supervising and speeding up disease prevention work in localities.

It is necessary “to launch a public awareness campaign to introduce ways to prevent avian influenza infections amongst poultry and humans,” the minister said.

He urged localities to launch a month-long disinfectant campaign from now on and to strictly control the importation and transportation of poultry and poultry products.