
Veterinary authorities have reported two fresh outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N6 bird flu in the northern provinces of Lang Son and Ha Tinh for the first time in Vietnam.
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The outbreaks occurred in a herd of chickens in Lang Son’s Trang Dinh District and in a flock of ducks in Ha Tinh’s Ky Anh District, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Veterinary Department said.
On Thursday, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long sent dispatches to the People’s Committees of provinces and cities nationwide, warning about the appearance of the H5N6 bird flu virus strain for the first time in the country.
This extremely toxic virus strain has yet to be proven to transmit from human to human, the ministry said in its notice.
All local authorities should keep a close watch on the fatal strain to detect it soon from poultry, the ministry said.
In a report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on August 12, the department said a total of 1980 birds were found susceptible, out of which 950 birds were found to be infected.
A total of 15 deaths were reported and the remaining 1965 birds were destroyed, the report said.
via H5N6 bird flu virus found for first time in Vietnam.
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