In a press conference on the afternoon of October 28, Mr. Bui Quang Anh, head of the Department of Animal Health, stated that the risk of an outbreak of avian influenza in Vietnam is currently very high. The reason is that implementation in various localities is still weak, with many areas remaining complacent.
According to Mr. Anh, Vietnam has deployed all measures to prevent the outbreak, including culling poultry, sanitizing and disinfecting, enhancing biosecurity, organizing centralized poultry slaughtering, banning poultry farming in urban areas, and administering vaccinations. However, due to a shortage of veterinary staff and the lack of authority to stop vehicles on the roads, the quarantine of poultry has not been effectively carried out. Meanwhile, despite regulations halting the incubation of waterfowl, many localities have not complied, leading to a situation where the number of poultry requiring vaccination has increased from an initial estimate of 20 million to 60 million birds today.
According to warnings from the Department of Animal Health, the localities in the Mekong Delta and the Red River Delta are at the highest risk of an outbreak. Current weather conditions are conducive for the virus to spread if local authorities do not implement stringent disease prevention measures. Additionally, there is troubling news for Vietnam as some countries around the world have reported wild birds infected with avian influenza. This poses a significant threat to Vietnam, which has a large population of wild birds.
K.HƯNG
