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The birdflu watchdog chief has rung alarm bells warning of the spread of bird flu in the Mekong Delta, after Soc Trang province became the seventh in the region to declare outbreaks on Jan. 14.
Cao Duc Phat, head of the National Steering Committee for Bird Flu Control, immediately flew to the region upon having learnt the bad news that a flock of 134 ducks in Soc Trang had tested positive for the deadly virus.
In his stop-over in Vinh Long province, one of the hotbeds in the region, on Jan. 14, Phat, who is also Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, called on the local administration to leave no stone unturned to curb the deadly pandemic.
"The province should intensify inspections over poultry farms and isolate bird flu-hit areas," the minister emphasised.
He also unveiled the ministry's long-term strategy to work with local administrations to launch campaigns for establishing a modern poultry-farming industry under strict rules and with regular vaccinations for poultry flocks on a national scale in an effort to ensure biological safety and environmental hygiene.
" Systematic training for the veterinary personnel is necessary to enable them to contain and deal with outbreaks right at the grassroots level," Phat said.
The minister also reminded local administrations of the Prime Minister's instruction not to let financial problems make any impact on bird flu control and ordered them to strictly abide by the top-level demand.
In the Mekong Delta, over 39 villages in 19 districts of the above-mentioned seven provinces have detected bird flu outbreaks over the past 21 days.
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