Bird Flu Spreads in S. Vietnam: Sparks Fears Whole Country At Risk

"The epidemic situation is worsening," says Agriculture Vice-Minister Bui Ba Bong.

Outbreaks could spread across the country with cooler weather and the increased movement of poultry and people in the coming weeks before Vietbam's New Year, Bong warns.

Ducks can carry the H5N1 virus without showing symptoms, as can people, which makes monitoring outbreaks more difficult.

Bird flu spreads in southern Vietnam: Fears it could engulf whole country

Bird flu outbreaks among poultry continued in southern Vietnam and officials warned the disease could possibly spread to the entire country, officials and news media reported Wednesday.

Ducks can carry the virus without showing symptoms.

"The epidemic situation is worsening," Bong was quoted saying.

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In Vietnam, a government report said bird flu in poultry had moved closer to Ho Chi Minh City, the nation's largest urban area, after an outbreak was confirmed in a fifth province.

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Vietnam Faces Bird Flu Resurgence

Vietnam's glory as star performer in fighting avian influenza in 2006 is being stripped as the deadly virus reappears in the southern Mekong Delta region. February may see the epidemic sweeping through the entire country, officials warn.

...of the more than 50 countries where the virus has been detected, Vietnam had stood out as a model of how this deadly strain could be contained. A national programme of culling, vaccinating poultry, shutting down open chicken markets and an awareness campaign saw Vietnam without a bird flu case for an eight-month stretch, since December 2005.

That achievement came in the wake of a looming crisis, where Vietnam had the highest human death toll due to bird flu by end 2005 and some 44 million birds, an estimated 17.5 percent of its poultry population, had died or been slaughtered since the 2203 winter H5N1 outbreak.

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Vietnam's bird flu spreading

Vietnam government reported that H5N1 bird flu is spreading and spread of avian bird flu virus has reached to Vietnam's largest urban area of Ho Chi Minh City. 20 chickens were found dead on a farm in Vinh Long province confirmed the presence of the virus.

The Vietnam experience shows that once disease is allowed to become endemic, it is difficult if not impossible to eradicate.