Vietnam urges speed up of bird flu vaccination
VIETNAM - Vietnam has urged local governments to vaccinate poultry faster to try to avoid future bird flu flare-ups, a senior agriculture official said Wednesday, according to AP news agency.So far, some 40 million poultry have been vaccinated since a new round of shots began last month, while provinces have been encouraged to immunize another 90 million birds by the end of next month, said Deputy Agriculture Minister Bui Ba Bong.
If the shots are not given now, the vaccination campaign could be thrown off schedule. It could result in delaying immunizations that need to be given during the autumn months when Vietnam is highly susceptible to bird flu outbreaks.
Bong blamed the slowdown on a shortage of funds and growing complacency among local governments because Vietnam has not experienced any bird flu outbreaks in poultry since December.
Source: Thanh Nien News
26 April 2006
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