Vietnam on alert for Avian Influenza A (H7N9)
(VOV) - Vietnam should take proactive measures to prevent avian influenza A (H7N9) virus although the country has not detected any infection case so far, according to the Preventive Health Department under the Ministry of Health.
The Department said on December 18 that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) have recorded another six infected cases on human including four cases of A (H9N2) and two cases of A (H7N9).
As Vietnam has a long borderline with China with a lot of trading activities, there is a high risk of the virus transmission into Vietnam, particularly at the coming Lunar New Year festival (Tet) when the demand for poultry products will increasing rapidly
The Ministry of Health has strictly co-ordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to monitor the spread of the epidemic among poultry for an early prevention.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), since June avian influenza A (H7N9) has been detected on poultry in several provinces of China. So far, 683 cases in the world have been reported as positive to avian influenza (H7N9) on human.