More bird flu in Vietnam

The virus was found in a duck in the southern Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, Mai Van Hiep, according to the director of the provincial animal health bureau.

All the ducks on the farm, none of which showed any sign of bird flu symptoms, were destroyed after the test result came back, Hiep said. The farm and surrounding areas were disinfected.

Earlier this month, the bird flu virus was also detected in two ducks and two geese in random testing in Thanh Phu town in the same province.

Hiep said more than 300 samples of poultry were taken for testing so far this year, and five tested positive for bird flu.

“The infected ducks are still healthy,” Hiep said. “It was a big problem for us to control the virus from spreading.”

The government imposed a ban on hatching and raising water fowl, which can carry the virus without showing symptoms. However, the ban was largely ignored by farmers. There is an estimated 50 million to 70 million water fowl in the country.

“The results of surveillance recently showed that a highly virulent bird flu virus is circulating in the water fowl, particularly in the water fowl which were not vaccinated,” the Animal Health Department said on its Web site.

“The risk of bird flu resurgence in coming time therefore is very high, particularly in provinces of high poultry density,” it said.