Vietnam is likely to encounter a new outbreak of bird flu in the southern Mekong Delta in late March, though the disease is cooling down there, the local newspaper Young People reported Wednesday.

Bird flu may reoccur in the delta late next month when local farmers nationwide are hatching waterfowl eggs for sales and production, Bui Ba Bong, deputy minister of the Agriculture and Rural Development, said at a meeting of the country's National Anti-Bird Flu Steering Committee on Tuesday.

The Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development confirmed Wednesday that bird flu is hitting 6 communes in 6 districts in southern Can Tho city, and three southern provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu and Vinh Long, noting that a locality is considered disease-free if it has detected no new outbreaks for at least 21 days.

In mid-January, bird flu stroke 43 communes in 18 districts in the five southern provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Hau Giang, Kien Giang and Vinh Long, either killing or leading to the forced culling of more than 42,000 poultry.

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, said the department.

Source: Xinhua