# 1828
A huge part of Vietnam's bird flu strategy is the vaccination of all domestic fowl. Early on, in 2006 and the first half of 2007, this campaign appeared to be extremely successful.
Over the past 12 months, however, bird flu outbreaks have returned to Vietnam, as have human cases. Carelessness on the part of farmers, or incomplete vaccination of flocks, has been blamed in the past.
Now birds known to have been vaccinated have died of bird flu, and so inspectors are investigating. Since vaccinations don't convey immediate immunity, it is possible the birds contracted the disease before the vaccine could take effect.
Meanwhile, doctors are testing samples from a 20-year-old man who died in a local hospital, suspected of bird flu.
Last Updated: Thursday, March 27, 2008 14:06:53 Vietnam (GMT+07)
Inspection ordered after vaccinated birds die of bird flu
The Animal Health Department will examine vaccinated poultry in Hanoi and some provinces after bird flu outbreaks were reported at farms that had taken part in vaccination programs.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said Wednesday the department would check the immunity of 57 vaccinated fowls from Hanoi and 28 cities and provinces.
Officials in the central province of Quang Nam reported two outbreaks last Monday and Tuesday in Dai Loc and Nui Thanh districts that killed 800 ducks.
A third of the dead birds in Nui Thanh had been vaccinated on March 12 but local animal health officials said they could have contracted the bird flu virus before building up antibodies against the disease.
The deputy chief of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Thanh Son, said though vaccination and other programs had been carried out in many provinces, carelessness, especially among farmers, had caused bird flu outbreaks.
Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City’s Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital said the death of a patient Wednesday was possibly due to the H5N1 strain of bird flu. The 20-year-old man had been hospitalized the previous day with breathing difficulty, cough, high fever and acute pneumonia.
His family in the northern province of Nghe An said there had been a bird flu outbreak in the province two months ago when the patient was still there.
The city’s Pasteur Institute is testing samples from the deceased man to identify the cause of death.
Of the 106 human bird flu cases confirmed in Vietnam since 2003, 52 have been fatal.
The latest confirmed victim was an 11-year-old boy in the northern province of Ha Nam who died last week.
Ten provinces, mostly in the north, have reported outbreaks of the disease this year but health officials said Monday the Mekong Delta faced the risk of a massive outbreak due to farming of free-range ducks in many provinces and poor control of poultry transport and trade in provinces like Dong Thap, Kien Giang, An Giang and Hau Giang.
