Provincial and municipal People’s Committees must immediately set upworking groups to supervise the prevention and combat against theepidemic, focusing on high-risk groups.
They arealso requested to keep a close watch on the disease to promptly stampout outbreaks, and establish check points to clamp down illegal poultrytransport.
In border provinces, quarantine must beintensified, and no unchecked poultry and poultry products are allowedto be transported through the border.
At thesame time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)ordered its Animal Health Department to collect disease samples, andprovide effective vaccination guidelines.
Livestock Husbandry Department and National Agricultural ExtensionCentre have instructed poultry farmers and traders on hygiene,sterilisation, and safe breeding models to minimise the bird flu risks.
According to the ministry, numerous cold spellsin the coming time will impact poultry’s disease resistance whilepoultry products trafficking will also increase.
As many as 140 people in China have so far this year contracted theH7N9 virus, including 47 fatalities. H10N8 virus also killed one inJiangxi province.
To date, no avian influenzaH7N9 and H10N8 cases have been recorded in Vietnam, but there is a highrisk of bird flu epidemic in the country, particularly in northernborder provinces and cities such as Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, HungYen, Ha Nam, Hanoi and Hai Phong.-VNA