Bird flu, which had not been present in Vietnam for over one month, hit a duck flock in the country's central Nghe An province in early May, according to a local veterinary agency on Monday.

Specimens from ducts raised by a local man named Hoang Seu in Dien Chau district were tested positive to bird flu virus strain H5, according to the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Among the flock of 610 ducks, 246 died from May 1 to 4.

The provincial Veterinary Bureau has culled other ducks in the flock, disinfected affected areas, and established quarantine checkpoints around the areas.

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, according to the department.

To date, Vietnam has detected over 2,000 bird flu outbreaks among poultry, leading to the killing or the forced killing of over 40 million fowls, or about 15 percent of its poultry population, according to a recent report of the World Bank in the country. The direct cost of bird flu in Vietnam is estimated at 200 million U.S. dollars so far, said the bank.

Source: Xinhua