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Overall Slaughter of Poultry Infected with Bird Flu

Posted January. 18, 2004 23:21,   

한국어

The Vietnam government has taken an excessively strong measure against the bird flu, destroying all poultry such as ducks and chickens in the 12 provinces where the bird flu has occurred. Until January 17, the 13 suspected bird flu patients have died and another five suspected patients have been found.

In accordance with the advice from WHO and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the U.N., Ho Chi Min City has placed a ban on the overall sales of poultry. As this all-out measure of destroying poultry followed the measures of Ho Chi Min City, it is highly expected that the poultry slaughter will spread to the other regions of Vietnam.

“Though the slaughter will strongly damage the farm housings, it is indispensable in order to prevent the diffusion of the virus,” explained the person in authority.

Among the 18 suspicious bird flu patients, 13 have died of the disease so far. As for the four patients, WHO has officially confirmed that they have been infected with the bird flu. In addition, another five suspected patients were reported on January 17.

The hospitals in southern Vietnam disclosed that on January 11 and 13, a female, 21, and male patient, 25, respectively have shown similar symptoms to the patients infected with H5N1 virus, a sort of bird flu virus. It is the first time that the suspicious patients were reported in the southern regions of Vietnam. In addition, on January 15 and 16, three babies were hospitalized due to similar symptoms, the authorities of Hanoi disclosed.

In accordance with the outbreak, WHO explained that the bird flu can be transmitted through the living poultry, but it is not contagious between people, adding that the excrement of the infected poultry gives off the virus to the air.

WHO also announced that despite the infection, one or two types of poultry can be allowed to survive, and it should be treated with wariness, for the excrement can contain the relevant viruses for another 10 days. It warned that the poultries are raised in a narrow environment so that the breeder can inhale the virus floating in the air.

However, WHO added that the virus of the bird flu can be destroyed in the process of cooking.

On the other hand, regarding the viewpoint of WHO that the bird flu virus has a low chance of contagion among the human-beings, the experts asserted, “Considering the cases of the patients’ family members, who died of the symptoms resembling the bird flu, the possibilities of contagion through human body cannot be ruled out.”



Ki-Tae Kwon kkt@donga.com