HANOI, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Bird flu has killed
poultry in southern Vinh Long province, raising the total number of localities
in Vietnam stricken by the disease to five, according to a local veterinary
agency on Friday.
Specimens from dead chickens in the province's Binh
Minh district have been tested positive to bird flu virus strain H5N1, the
Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development said, noting that 20 chickens raised by a family died on Jan.
Ten chickens in the affected flock were culled to
prevent the spread of bird flu.
Bird flu has, since early December 2006, stricken 43
communes in 18 districts in the five southern provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Hau
Giang, Kien Giang and Vinh Long, either killing or leading to the forced culling
of more than 42,000 poultry.
Specimens from many healthy unvaccinated ducks in the
southern Mekong Delta have been tested positive to H5N1, the department said.
Recent local media reported a limited number of ducks
and chickens have died in the last few days in several localities, including the
two central provinces of Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam, and southern Long An
province. Specimens from the dead fowls are being tested for bird flu viruses.
Bird flu outbreaks in Vietnam, starting in December
2003, have killed and led to the forced culling of dozens of millions of fowls
in the country.