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HANOI: Bird flu in Vietnam has spread to a mountainous province bordering China, officials said Friday, as animal health workers stepped up vaccinations to limit the spread of the virus.
The outbreak in northern Cao Bang province, and new poultry deaths reported from central Ha Tinh, have brought to 18 the number of Vietnam's 64 provinces and municipalities hit by the H5N1 virus since last month.
Nearly 2,600 ducks and chickens died or were culled to contain the latest two outbreaks, the communist country's animal health department said in an online report.
Last week, China stepped up anti-bird flu measures in its southern Guangxi region, which shares a 600-kilometre (400-mile) border with Vietnam, vaccinating birds, closing markets and banning cross-border poultry trade, the China Daily newspaper said, citing officials.
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung this week ordered the agriculture ministry to take urgent steps to contain the spread of avian influenza, blamed by experts on gaps in the vaccinations of waterfowl.
Vietnam was the country worst hit by bird flu between late 2003 and November 2005, with 42 human fatalities.
After an 18-month period with no new human cases, Vietnam has seen four new infections in recent weeks. Two of the patients have been discharged from hospital, but two were still undergoing treatment.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has not confirmed the latest cases.
Worldwide, the virus has killed 190 out of 312 people infected with H5N1, says the WHO. Experts fear the death toll would rise sharply if the virus were to mutate and become easily transmitted between humans. - AFP/yy
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