Dr. Anh on October 20 granted an interview to the Viet Nam News Agency on the country's bird flu prevention work, and measures to overcome the shortage of bird flu vaccine.

Anh said Viet Nam is entering winter, a season of flu, and that although the bird flu situation had eased since August, and no new case of people infected H5N1 virus had been reported, the country is still in a high risk of bird flu recurring.

According to world experts, Viet Nam is in the third of six phases of bird flu, meaning that people have contracted the avian influenza, but there is still no transmission of the virus from human to human, he said.

For the veterinary sector, the focal task now is to effectively vaccinate poultry, which is the last measure to eliminate H5N1 virus.

The vaccination of poultry began in Viet Nam in August 2005. So far, the work has been finished in northern Nam Dinh province and southern Tien Giang province, where the inoculation was conducted on a trial basis, Anh said.

The inoculation has also been carried out in 37 cities and provinces, and more than 56 million doses of vaccines have been used. However, Anh said, as Viet Nam has to import the vaccines, it has to depend on the foreign suppliers.

The National Veterinary Company (NAVETCO) has signed contracts to import 260 million doses of vaccines, and this batch will be mainly given to the Mekong delta provinces, and high-risk localities in the north, such as Ha Tay, Hai Duong, Ninh Binh and Ha Noi.

What's important is to take comprehensive measures, including zoning and building poultry feeding, slaughtering and trading areas far from residential areas.

Anh further said that almost all Veterinary Department and Rural and Development Services in localities have based their building plans on their geographical and financial conditions. However he added that except for Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Ha Tay, all remaining localities, including Ha Noi, are implementing the plans at a snail's pace.

According to Anh, Viet Nam should disseminate more information in order to raise public awareness about the disease. At present, many localities and agencies still do not consider preventing bird flu important, and thus they do not spend appropriate time, manpower and funds on the work.

Additionally, Anh cited the random slaughtering and the contact with fowls of unclear origins as the factors which would cause another outbreak./.