HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Provincesacross the country are taking action to prevent the spread of disease that hasaffected cattle and poultry breeding facilities and farms in recent weeks.

An outbreak ofH5N1 avian influenza occurred in late December in CanDuoc district in the Mekong Delta province of LongAn, according to Dinh Thi Phuong Khanh, Deputy Director of the provincialDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development.

On December 21, as many as 400chickens at a poultry-breeding farm in hamlet 4 in Long Son commune showedsymptoms of the disease, but the farm’s owner did not report the problem toauthorities and tried to treat the animals by himself.

The disease was transmittedthrough the air and nearly 3,600 of 5,500 ducks at two farms nearby died onJanuary 3.

After samples from dead duckswere found to be positive for H5N1, Can Duoc district’s People’s Committeeannounced that H5N1 bird flu had broken out in Long Son commune.

The district’s People’s Committeeissued a plan on disease prevention to stall the spread of the deadly flu.

Local authorities were asked toburn dead animals, spray disinfectants, carry outstrict surveillance, and set upthree quarantine booths to closelymonitor the situation.

The province also provided H5N1 avianflu vaccines to poultry farminghouseholds and large livestock farms with 2,000 animals in affectedareas and in high-risk neighbouring areas such as LongCang, Long Hoa, Tan Trach and Phuoc Van communes.

Agencies were required to reachat least 90 percent of H5N1 avian flu vaccinecoverage in affected areas, and about 80 percent coverage inthreatened areas.

Unseasonable weather in provincesacross the country could contribute to the spread of the disease in comingweeks.

In Dak Lak province, the Sub-department of AnimalHusbandry and Health reported that an outbreakof H5N1 avian influenza and foot-and-mouthdisease occurred in late 2018.

Sixty-four cows at 19 breedinghouseholds in Buon Ho town’s Cu Bao commune on December 27 were found to havefoot-and-mouth disease.

A day after, the Buon Ho People’sCommittee announced an outbreak of foot-and-mouth diseasein cattle and temporarily suspended all transport, trade and slaughter ofcattle and livestock products out of the affected areas.

The sub-department provided Cu Bao commune’s People’sCommittee 800 vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease and 30 litres ofchemicals for disinfecting areas.

Earlier, an outbreak of A/H5N1 bird flu among215 chickens occurred at a breeding household in Krong Pak district’s Tan Tien commune.

Krong Pak district’s AnimalHealth Station destroyed the infected chickens andtook measures to preventdisease and a large-scale outbreak.

Meanwhile, Tien Giang province’s Departmentof Agriculture and Rural Development reported that it had burned nearly 1,200pigs with foot-and-mouth disease at 83 breeding householdsand two slaughtering facilities in Cai Be, Cai Lay and Chau Thanh districts and CaiLay town.

The disease first brokeout on a farm in Cai Lay district’s My Thanh Nam commune onDecember 21 and spread quickly. Most of the animals had not beenvaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease.

Provincial authorities said thevirus spread rapidly because breeders had not disclosed that their pigs werediseased, and some of them had even sold diseased animals.

Farmers were told to immediatelyreport their infected animals and to not throw away dead animals.

Authorities said that publicawareness campaigns were needed to educate locals about the need for vaccines.

More inspections and bettersupervision during trading, transportation andslaughtering process are also needed, they said.

The province is now disinfecting the environment toreduce pathogens in an effort to control thespread of the disease before January 15.

Nguyen Van Long, head of the epidemiologydepartment at the Animal Health Department underthe Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said since late December thenumber of infected animals with foot-and-mouth disease had totalled 2,388 inthe country. Most of them were unvaccinated pigs.

In the last 21 days, as many as24 foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks have beenreported in six provinces and cities across the country.

An avian flu A/H5N6 outbreak thatlasted for 16 days was recorded inQuang Ninh province, and an A/H5N1 outbreak of 15 days wasseen in Dak Lak province.

According to experts, the risk ofbird flu outbreaks remains high in thecoming time. Other strains ofbird flu such as A/H7N9, A/H5N2 and A/H5N8 couldinfect poultry because of smuggling and illegal transportof the animals in northern border provinces and cities.-VNS/VNA