Hanoi (VNA) -ꦿ Asmany as 399 districts across Vietnam have been identified as high risk areasfor the outbreak of bird flu while another 314 districts are at low risk,according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

According to thenational plan on avian influenza prevention and control from 2019 to 2025approved recently by the Prime Minister, the high-risk districts are those thatfall into at least one of three categories. First, they are located in borderprovinces of Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Dien Bienand Son La. Secondly, thedistricts had bird flu outbreaks or cases of bird flu reported at least twicein the last five years (2014-18) or within two years after they are removedfrom the low-risk district list.  Thirdly, thehigh-risk districts have more than 3,000 poultry farming households, over100,000 poultry, over 100 duck farming households, or over 11,000 ducks. Low-risk districtsare those that fall in at least one of following categories, including no birdflu outbreak or bird flu virus reported in the last five years, their poultrypopulation is less than 100,000 poultry and less than 3,000 households raisepoultry in a district. The low-riskdistricts have disease-free poultry production chains. Head of theEpidemiology Division under the Department of Animal Health Nguyen Van Longsaid on March 22 that the zoning which identifies high/low risk areas for birdflu outbreak is one of 12 key measures Vietnam is taking to better prevent andcontrol bird flu until 2015. Other measuresincluded disease detection, response and control, vaccination, animalquarantine, and poultry slaughtering control. The country will also developmore disease-free production zones and safe production chains in conformitywith recommendations of the World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE), Longsaid. Now, there are sixdisease-free poultry production zones in Vietnam and 654 poultry farms arecertificated disease-free. Deputy Minister ofAgriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said monitoring the bird fluvirus circulation effectively helps prevent and control bird flu.

The Department ofAnimal Health cooperates with the Food and Agriculture Organisation and OIE totake poultry samples for monitoring each year.
🐼 Tien called forcontinued international assistance to Vietnam in dealing with diseasesincluding poultry diseases.

In Vietnam, the avianinfluenza virus A/H5N1 in poultry was first reported in late 2003. At thattime, Vietnam was one of the first countries to declare an epidemic of thisvirus and suffered heavy losses when more than 45 million poultry were culled between2003 and 2006. Between 2007 and2013, about 200,000 poultry were killed because of bird flu each year. Between2014 to March, 2019, about 90,000 poultry were killed because of bird flu eachyear. From 2004 to 2014,127 people were infected with A/H5N1, of them, 64 victims died. Since April, 2014, noone in Vietnam has been infected with bird flu. According to theagriculture ministry, over 12 million households across the country raisepoultry, mostly on a small scale, which is said to cause difficulties inapplying synchronised disease-free production measures.-VNA