Vietnam will tighten control over the import of fowls through border gates to prevent bird flu, local media reported Wednesday.

Tests on fowls will be conducted right at border gates if necessary, Pioneer quoted Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, as saying.

The minister asked the ministry's Animal Health Department to establish inspection teams to monitor the operation of quarantine checkpoints, and the transport and trade of poultry and related products, in localities, especially border ones.

Tests on smuggled fowls will be conducted in at border crossings of the northern provinces of Lang Son and Quang Ninh, and some other localities, and the results will be reported to the government late this week, said Vietnam Agriculture newspaper.

Last week, the Vietnamese government tasked relevant agencies and localities to step up controlling over the import of fowls, monitoring bird flu, disinfecting farms, and accelerating bird flu vaccination among poultry.

Seeing no bird flu outbreaks over the past three months, some Vietnamese localities have dropped their vigilance against the disease.

Last year, bird flu hit 44 cities and provinces of Vietnam, killing and leading to the forced culling of nearly 4.8 million poultry. The total direct loss caused by the disease was estimated at more than 100 billion Vietnamese dong (6.3 million U.S. dollars) .

Now, the country has a total fowl population of 220 million.

Source: Xinhua