Vietnam faces high risk of A/H5N8 bird flu

November 20, 2014 | 10:01
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Although there have been no reported cases of A/H5N8 bird flu in Vietnam, there is a high risk that there will be cases in the future, an official said.


Vietnam yet to detect type A/H5N8

Dam Xuan Thanh, deputy director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Animal Health Department, made the statement at a recent meeting of the National Steering Committee for Bird Flu Prevention and Control.

According to Thanh, the results from recent tests showed that the virus had turned up in the UK and the Netherlands. It has genetic structure similar to the virus detected earlier in China, South Korea and Japan in January.

A/H5N8 has a high fatality rate among chickens, and especially turkeys, and it has been found in wild birds and poultry other Asian countries.

“Vietnam faces a high risk of the virus turning up here, so it’s necessary to strictly comply with prevention rules,” Thanh emphasised.

The A/H5N1 strand of bird flu has been detected in many localities across the country, forcing locals to destroy thousands of of their birds since the beginning of the year.

Dtinews

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