A fresh outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus has struck in Nam Ma village, Long district, in Luang Namtha province, according to a report from the Department of Livestock and Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
The village of 53 houses lost 600 of its poultry stocks within three days last week, the Director General of the department, Dr Bounkhouang Khambounheuang, told Vientiane Times yesterday.
The village is in an isolated district about 35 km from the Myanmar and Chinese borders.
When poultry first started dying, the authorities sent staff from the provincial Livestock and Fisheries Office to investigate, and they sent samples of chicken meat to the National Centre for Animal Health in Vientiane on Friday for analysis.
The centre analysed the sample using the standard RT-PCR technique, and confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus on Saturday, said Dr Bounkhouang.
The department and the National Avian Human Influenza Coordination Office quickly took steps to contain the outbreak and sent technical staff to work with Luang Namtha provincial authorities in the village and initiate precautionary measures in nearby communities, he said.
Dr Bounkhouang said the department had placed a ban on the movement and sale of poultry or eggs, and had begun spraying birds with disinfectant.
Of the 1,700 poultry in the village, all within a one kilometre radius of the village will be destroyed.
“We will compensate people for their losses if we have to cull their birds, according to the rules of the department,” he said.
He said he believed that the virus had not yet infected any humans, but warned that the possibility was always there.
The department is now trying to check the source of the outbreak, said Dr Bounkhouang.
Previous outbreaks were successfully contained in Vientiane and in Savannakhet, Champassak and Vientiane provinces last year.
However, the northern provinces of Oudomxay, Bokeo, Luang Prabang and Phongsaly are at a very high risk of further outbreaks of the virus, he said.
The department urges people everywhere to be careful and to pay more attention to the health of their animals, and send samples of chickens that have died suspiciously to the National Centre for Animal Health for analysis.
The virus is a particular problem in neighbouring countries, where authorities are constantly fighting new outbreaks, he said.
UN agencies such as UNICEF, the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organisation are helping in response efforts.
UNICEF has sent educational materials to the province, including posters, booklets and hygiene products such as soap, to teach people how to prevent the disease and how to protect themselves.
From this news, Lao authorities in cooperation with international agencies are very responsive to the outbreak. Keep on fighting this unfortunate event and promote the public awareness campaign in those areas.
It would be a good idea to show the VDO about the bird flu called " A father's heart" to local people.
