Animal health officials in Bac Lieu Province cull a flock of ducks with bird flu in Phuoc G Long District’s Vinh Phu Dong Commune

The US government will support a training program to provide Vietnamese animal health experts with the skills needed to curb avian influenza outbreaks.

The program will be conducted by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in cooperation with the UN Joint Program, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization Vietnam Avian Influenza Program, and the Department of Animal Health of Vietnam.

Vietnam is one of the countries most affected by avian influenza, which is caused by the H5N1 virus, and has incurred millions of dollars in losses due to bird flu outbreaks in poultry over the past four years, according to a press release from the US Embassy in Hanoi.

Since 2003, Vietnam has recorded 109 cases of bird flu in humans. Fifty-four of those people infected died.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, avian flu outbreaks have occurred in 11 provinces so far this year.

USAID has provided $27.5 million for avian influenza prevention and control in Vietnam since 2005.

Reported by Thanh Nguyen