# 560
There is an old adage that when dealing with authorities, one should watch what they do, not what they say.
Therefore, it is interesting to observe the actions of some countries in their attempt to contain the H5N1 virus. Sometimes we've seen steps that appear to be over-reactions, at least based on the `conventional wisdom' that avian flu remains a B2H (Bird to Human) disease and is difficult to catch.
In the past, we've seen entire villages quarantined, with paramilitary guards preventing people from entering or leaving. We've seen massive testing of the populace, as in Moscow, even when there have been no human infections reported.
And today, we learn that in some suburbs of Hanoi where infected birds have died, residents may not leave their homes without wearing masks.
Overkill? An abundance of caution? Or is this a reasonable step given the circumstances?
Few countries have as much experience with bird flu as Vietnam. They were one of the first countries to be hit hard by the virus, and up until a few months ago, held the less than happy distinction of having the highest death toll.
One wouldn't expect Vietnamese officials to over-react, given their long history with battling this disease. Perhaps it's because Hanoi is the capital city, and is home to more than 3 million residents. An outbreak there would be very difficult to contain.
I honestly don't know.
Whether or not the H5N1 virus is more than primarily a B2H threat or not, authorities in some countries are certainly acting like it poses a greater threat. Their precautions are those one would expect with an easily spread H2H disease.
This would seem to be an interesting escalation in the concerns of at least one government's authorities over the transmissibility of the disease. One that I haven't seen publicized before.
When compared to the reactions of the UK government during the Suffolk outbreak, where the message was bird flu posed `no threat to the public', Vietnam's stance seems almost over-the-top.
Quarantines? Military checkpoints? Mandatory wearing of masks?
The admonition that the killer virus, like other respiratory diseases, spreads faster in the cold winter months, aided by the fact that people tend to spend more time together in confined spaces, also speaks to their heightened concerns over transmissibility.
Whether it means anything, at this point in time, it is impossible to say. Perhaps there is some hyperbole in the reportage, or some district level official has over reacted.
But someone, somewhere, appears to be very nervous.
Vietnam isolates Hanoi bird flu site
(AFP)
9 March 2007HANOI - Vietnamese health workers Friday moved to contain a bird flu outbreak in the capital Hanoi as the H5N1 virus spread to a fifth location within three weeks, in the country’s southern Mekong Delta.
Donning protective suits and face masks, workers in Hanoi sprayed disinfectant at several poultry farms on the northern outskirts of the city where 2,000 chickens died of the virus or were destroyed earlier this week.
Police and officials manned 24-hour checkpoints set up since Monday leading into the Hau Duong hamlet in suburban Dong Anh district to quarantine the site of the outbreak, where another 2,000 birds have since been vaccinated.
‘No poultry and poultry products are allowed to be transported in or out of the area,’ local veterinarian Do Van Thanh told AFP. ‘Local residents must wear masks if they come out of their houses.’
Health officials warn of a heightened risk as the killer virus, like other respiratory diseases, spreads faster in the cold winter months, aided by the fact that people tend to spend more time together in confined spaces.
Also on Friday, authorities said bird flu had spread to a fifth location in Vietnam since late February, hitting a flock of two-month-old ducks in Can Tho, a city 170 kilometres (100 miles) southwest of Ho Chi Minh City.
