Vietnam, who currently imports bird flu vaccines for fowls mainly from China, plans to mass produce the vaccines in September, local newspaper Youth reported Wednesday.

The plan was announced by Le Minh Sat, vice director of the Department of Science and Technology under the country's Ministry of Science and Technology, at a meeting of the National Anti-Bird Flu Steering Committee on Tuesday.

At the meeting, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong said the country has detected no new bird flu outbreaks among poultry for 15 days. If that trend continues for one more week, it can declare an end to outbreaks nationwide on March 27.

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.

Regarding foot-and-mouth disease, Bong said it is spreading in the central region. Now, northern Lai Chau province and five central and central highlands provinces -- Dac Lac, Khanh Hoa, Quang Ngai, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Binh -- are hit by the disease.

Source: Xinhua