The Central Veterinary Enterprise and NAVETCO 2 Company (Ho Chi Minh City) are currently conducting a trial production of a total of 200,000 doses of H5N1 vaccine for poultry, as reported by the Veterinary Institute during the meeting of the National Steering Committee for Avian Influenza Prevention held yesterday morning (May 9).
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| More than 70 million poultry have been vaccinated nationwide. (Photo: pbs) |
Accordingly, the Central Veterinary Enterprise is testing 80,000 doses of the H5N1 vaccine, while NAVETCO 2 is producing 120,000 doses.
Mr. Truong Van Dung, Director of the Veterinary Institute, stated that research results so far show that the H5N1 vaccine for poultry produced in Vietnam is relatively effective. This proves that Vietnam can fully self-supply vaccines in the event of an H5N1 influenza pandemic.
For the vaccine for Muscovy ducks, the Veterinary Institute is also testing a type of vaccine imported from Italy.
There are two types of vaccines administered to both the duck and Muscovy duck flocks at one day old and 15 days old. The Institute has requested Italy to provide Vietnam with 10,000 doses of this type of vaccine, with results expected in two months.
According to Mr. Dung, if the protection rate in vaccinated Muscovy ducks and ducks reaches 70-80%, it can be considered a success.
During the meeting, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat requested local veterinary departments to closely monitor the epidemiological developments in the waterfowl population, especially for the unvaccinated ducks, which are at high risk of carrying the virus. Therefore, the Minister urged the Veterinary Institute to expedite the trial vaccine administration on Muscovy ducks before August 2006, to allow for vaccination of the nationwide population of 3 million Muscovy ducks starting in September.
The Veterinary Department reported that over 70 million poultry have been vaccinated nationwide. Major poultry farming companies have also used more than 16 million doses of Trovac vaccine for one-day-old chicks and nearly 2 million doses of H5N2 vaccine from Intervet, Netherlands.
57 out of 63 provinces and cities (excluding Ho Chi Minh City, which did not vaccinate) have completed the first dose of the first round for 2006, including 18 provinces that completed the first dose, while 7 other provinces are proceeding with the second dose. Six other provinces are preparing to implement their vaccination plans. However, 4 provinces have yet to approve their vaccination plans for poultry this year: Quang Ngai, Bac Kan, Dien Bien, and Lai Chau.
H.Yen
