Nearly 200 ducks in Vietnam's southern Long An province have died over the past few days, Vietnam News Agency reported Thursday.

Nearly 130 ducks out of two flocks of 150 waterfowls raised by a local family in the Chau Thanh district have recently died. Dozens of ducks raised by their neighbors have also died.

All the ducks were not vaccinated against bird flu. Their specimens are being tested for the viruses.

Bird flu has, since early December 2006, stricken 42 communes in 17 districts in the four southern provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Hau Giang and Kien Giang, either killing or leading to the forced culling of more than 42,000 poultry, according to the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Bird flu outbreaks in Vietnam, starting in December 2003, have killed and led to the forced culling of dozens of millions of fowls in the country.

Source: Xinhua