The northern province of Hai Duong on February 27 declared an outbreak of A/H5N1 avian influenza in Cam Che commune, Thanh Ha district.

The action was prompted after samples taken from a Cam Che household where five dead chickens were spotted tested positive for the bird flu strain A/H5N1 on February 26.

The provincial Sub-Department of Animal Health and local authorities immediately culled all 300 poultry on the premises.

Deputy head of the division Pham Dinh Nghi said more than eight million birds are being raised in Hai Duong, 600,000 of them in Thanh Ha district.

The provincial People’s Committee has ordered its localities to intensify inspections and sterilisation as well as increase the number of staff on main roads to prevent fowl being traded during the epidemic period.

Apart from Hai Duong, as of February 25, bird flu had been detected in 21 provinces and cities across Vietnam with around 64,000 infected chickens culled, according to statistics from the Animal Health Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.-VNA