# 1023
Vietnam has had a rough spring and summer, and so any good news, or even a trend in the direction, is loudly hailed by officials. In early June 18 provinces were experiencing outbreaks of the H5N1 virus in poultry, today, that number is now down to three.
The 21 day rule, whereby an area can declare themselves `bird flu free' after 3 weeks without an outbreak obviously doesn't mean much. Many provinces in Vietnam, and elsewhere, have declared themselves `free of the virus', only to have it reemerge after weeks or months.
The fact that we find ourselves at the end of July, which in years past has been a dead time for the H5N1 virus, with outbreaks ongoing in 3 provinces of Vietnam, a fresh outbreak reported in Myanmar, the UK on alert for infected Migratory birds, human cases this month in Egypt and Indonesia, and fresh outbreaks in India is a sobering reminder that all is not quiet on the western or eastern front.
Bird flu, pig disease cooling down: Animal Health Department
Vietnam’s Animal Health Department reported Sunday that recent outbreaks of both bird flu and the porcine blue ear disease were fading.
The department confirmed that the northern province of Ninh Binh had been declared bird flu free.
Three provinces are still plagued by bird flu – Dien Bien in the north, Quang Binh in the center and Dong Thap in the Mekong Delta region.
A province is declared bird flu-free after it goes 21 consecutive days without a new case, according to the ministry.
Last week, the blue-ear disease, known in medical parlance as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), was reported in Danang city, Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.
But the department said Danang and Quang Ngai had seen no new blue ear infections in the last few days.
Meanwhile, in Quang Nam province, the number of infected pigs fell from 29,000 to some 7,000 as of Sunday.
Local animal health centers are strengthening quarantines, sterilizing infected areas and culling all infected pigs.
However, some 32 pigs in the Mekong Delta’s Long An province showed signs of the disease yesterday.
Ongoing diagnostic work on the pigs has yet to yield conclusive results.
PRRS in pigs is caused by the Lelstad virus, which causes ears to turn blue, appetite loss, high fever, miscarriage, premature delivery, coughing, respiratory problems, and death in extreme cases.
Reported by Thanh Nien staff – Translated by Tuong Nhi
