Bird flu epidemic threaten Vietnam

Vietnam warned that bird flu is spreading even faster this year than in last year’s disastrous Asian outbreak, while Thailand approved an emergency budget today to fight the disease amid concern that the world is ill-prepared for an overdue pandemic. A top health official in &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/comp/2002/09/18/36832.html ' target=_blank>Vietnam said the communist country is preparing to combat bird flu over the long haul as the virus shows signs of increased momentum. Nine people have died in Vietnam from the H5N1 bird flu strain since December 30 – compared to 20 for the rest of last year. The World Health Organisation’s 32 nation executive board met overnight in Geneva to discuss the urgent need for more international attention on bird flu, which has killed 41 people in Vietnam and &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/fun/2001/09/04/13759.html ' target=_blank>Thailand since last year – including nine deaths in the past month, informs the Scotsman. According to Asia Times, as South and Southeast Asia struggle to deal with the mounting death toll after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, another killer - bird flu - has eared its ugly head in some parts of the region. Thailand, where 12 people perished from the virus in the past year, also confirmed the presence of &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/360/14372_birdflu.html ' target=_blank>bird flu in two provinces this month - but the virus was only confined to poultry. In the eastern province of Rayong, the country's Livestock Department has identified the virus in 20 fighting cocks. A further 50 chickens were detected with the disease in the central province of Phitsanulok. Thailand's deputy premier Chaturon Chaisaeng said on Monday that the government committee supervising attempts to control the deadly virus had devised a multi-million-dollar, three-year strategy aimed at saving lives in the event of a massive outbreak. Hanoi's response to the spread of bird flu also suggests that danger lies ahead. On Tuesday, the Vietnamese government imposed a ban on all imports of poultry to reduce the possibility of further deaths from bird flu in the communist-ruled country. So far, nearly one-third of the country's 64 provinces have been infected with the virus and the state-run Vietnam News Agency reported that more than 250,000 birds have been culled to contain the infection.

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