He urged localities and relevant ministries to strictly monitor development of the disease, take effective measures to prevent the disease from spreading and tightly control poultry imports.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development meanwhile has issued a directive requiring local authorities and relevant agencies to take necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of bird flu.

It asked localities to increase monitoring to timely detect any outbreak of the disease, promote vaccination against bird flu and strictly supervise cross-border transport of animals and animal products as well as the transport of these products from or to bird flu affected areas.

The ministry required affected localities to strictly implement regulations on disinfection of breeding facilities, gathering dead poultry and environmental hygiene.

The Ministry of Public Health has sent working groups to localities to identify areas vulnerable to bird flu infection and take measures to prevent the disease from spreading.

According to the Veterinary Department, the recurrence of bird flu has been reported in 15 communes in the five provinces of Nghe An, Quang Ninh, Son La, Nam Dinh, Dong Thap and Can Tho.

Meanwhile, the first human case of bird flu has been detected in Vietnam after a nationwide absence of 17 months, said the Ministry of Public Health on May 24.

The patient, a 29-year-old man from northern Vinh Phuc province’s Thach Da commune, was diagnosed with acute pneumonia on May 10, and is now under intensive care in Hanoi’s Bach Mai Hospital.

According to relatives, the man had been slaughtering poultry for a wedding party five days before his symptoms were detected. Health officers believe he had bought the birds from a household farm in Hoang Kim commune, Me Linh district, Vinh Phu province.

No cases of human transmissions of H5N1 had been recorded since November 2006.