The animal health department of central Da Nang city has been keeping a close watch on the bird flu situation in order to timely discover and deal with abnormal poultry deaths.

The disease, which has yet to be recorded in the city, has hit the Central Highlands and central provinces and killed two people in the southern provinces of Binh Phuoc and Dong Thap so far this year.

The department has vaccinated fowl across the city.

The municipal agricultural sector has also provided 1.5 tonnes of chemicals for localities to disinfect, breading farms and slaughterhouses.

Households have been asked to inform local veterinarians if strange symptoms appear in their fowl.

Da Nang has 400,000 heads of poultry and eight main slaughterhouses. To ensure food safety, all small abattoirs will be closed by February 28.

Drastic measures have also been carried out in the southern province of Dong Nai in order to prevent all strains of avian influenza.

Head of the provincial Animal Health Department Tran Van Quang said there is a risk that the flu could break out in the province as it now has nearly 12 million chickens.-VNA