The northern province of Nam Dinh on October 21 announced the detection of A/H5N6 bird flu virus on poultry flocks for the first time.
A report of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development revealed that from October 1-10, over 3,300 fowls of four households in Vu Ban district’s Hien Khanh commune and Truc Ninh district’s Truc Phu commune were found to be dead or ill abnormally.
They then tested positive for A/H5N6 and were destroyed.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Viet Hung requested Vu Ban and Truc Ninh authorities to strictly implement prevention measures in accordance with the Veterinary Ordinance in order to quickly control the disease and minimise its impact.
Hien Khanh and Truc Phu communes were asked to set up quarantine posts, put a ban on the transportation and consumption of poultry and poultry products during this time, and sterilise poultry farms around the outbreaks.
According to the World Health Organisation, A/H5N6 is a highly pathogenic strain but there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission despite occasional instances of apparent inflection between family members.-VNA