Bird flu hits additional Vietnamese province

Bird flu has killed 66 ducks in southern Soc Trang province in the last few days, raising the total number of localities in Vietnam stricken by the disease to seven, Central Vietnam Television reported Sunday.

Specimens from the dead ducks in the province's My Tu district have been tested positive to bird flu virus strain H5N1, the television quoted the Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as reporting. The outbreak has led to the forced culling of 134 ducks in the district.

Bird flu has hit 39 communes in 19 districts in the seven southern provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh and Soc Trang since early December 2006, the department said.

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

Source: Xinhua