# 1756
A surprisingly downbeat assessment from Bui Quang Anh, the Head of Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Animal Health Department.
Despite an aggressive vaccination and culling program, outbreaks of the H5N1 virus continue to flare in 10 provinces of Vietnam, and there are worries of a wider spread of the disease later in the spring.
Minister forecasts massive bird flu outbreak in May
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Bird flu epidemic may break out in many provinces nationwide this May, an animal health official warned at a Tuesday meeting in Hanoi.
Head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Animal Health Department Bui Quang Anh said the deadly strain of H5N1 bird flu virus still persisted in many provinces nationwide.
Lax control over trade and transportation of poultry in many provinces threatens to spark bird flu recurrence.
The risks will increase as the weather gets warmer due to resumption of fowl farming.
The bird flu epidemic has hit 10 provinces so far this year, half of which are northern provinces of Quang Ninh, Ninh Binh, Phu Tho, Ha Nam, and Thai Nguyen. Southern provinces affected include Tra Vinh, Long An and Vinh Long, along with the two central provinces of Quang Binh and Quang Nam.
H5N1 has killed four people in Vietnam this year, bringing the total number of deaths caused by the virus to 51 in the country since 2003.
