Bird flu, pig disease return to Mekong Delta as weather cools
13 Oct 2007 - Bird flu is recurring in the Mekong River Delta as the weather turns from hot to cold in the last months of the year, according to the region’s animal health officials.
The Animal Health Department on Thursday said of the 300 ducks on a farm in Tra Cu District, Tra Vinh Province, five dead ducks had been tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus.The flock had come from different places, and had not yet been vaccinated.
Local veterinary workers culled infected water fowl immediately after the blood test results, and quarantined the affected area to prevent the spread of the virus.
The National Steering Committee for Avian Flu Control and Prevention is urging provinces and cities nationwide to promote vaccinations for poultry to stem the spread of the virus.
Bird flu broke out in Viet Nam in May, ravaging provinces across the country. In September, Tra Vinh Province was the last locality in the Mekong region to be declared free of the virus.
Pig disease
Local animal health workers in Ca Mau City in the Mekong Delta Province of Ca Mau on Thursday destroyed nine pigs infected by pig disease to prevent its outbreak in the city and surrounding areas.
Over the last three weeks, local animal health workers in Ca Mau City culled 56 sick animals and collected blood samples for testing.
Medically called Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), this blue ear disease first struck the central provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Da Nang City in late June.
The disease then broke out in the Mekong Delta Province of Long An in late July. Local veterinarians have destroyed 32 out of 40 infected pigs on a farm in Can Giuoc District.
In the last two days, local veterinarians in Khanh Hoa Province’s districts of Dien Khanh, Cam Lam, and Ninh Hoa and Nha Trang City culled 270 pigs infected by the disease.
As of October 11, Khanh Hoa, Ca Mau and Lang Son Provinces were reportedly still trying to control the disease.