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Vietnam Capital Fears 10 Per Cent of Residents Will Contract Bird Flu

Posted on: Thursday, 3 November 2005, 12:00 CST

Excerpt from report in English by Vietnamese radio text website on 3 November

According to warnings from relevant agencies, if an avian influenza epidemic occurs in Hanoi, around 10 per cent of the capital city's population will contract the deadly disease and the death toll is likely to reach 1 per cent.

The Hanoi Municipal People's Committee recently devised an emergency action plan to prevent possible reoccurrence of a bird flu epidemic in the city.

A number of poultry markets, including Long Bien, Thanh Cong, Mo and Hom-Duc Vien, and poultry quarantine checkpoints, veterinary agencies, police and market management units are bracing themselves to fully implement regulations issued by the city on the poultry transport, slaughter and trade.

Head of the Ba Dinh Veterinary Department Huynh Quoc Hoa said all poultry brought to markets must have quarantine certificates to ensure that they are healthy and have been fully vaccinated. If any infected fowl is detected, it will be culled to prevent a rapid spread of the avian flu epidemic. In addition, poultry trading areas in all markets will be disinfected weekly.

Hanoi is currently intensifying a vaccination campaign for all poultry. More than 92 per cent of poultry in the city have been vaccinated. The city is also reinforcing propaganda activities in an attempt to raise people's awareness about the urgent need to prevent an avian influenza epidemic. [passage omitted]

With such measures, Hanoi is determined to minimize the negative impacts on production and people's health if a bird flu epidemic occurs.

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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