VIENTIANE, Feb 25 (VNA) – Laos’ Phongsaly province has become the first locality in the country this year where bird flu was detected when an avian influenza outbreak was confirmed by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) last week.
According to the source from FAO Lao office, two red zones of 1 km radius around a place in Muang Koua District where the fetal disease was detected, have been declared.
Lao News Agency (KPL) said one red zone is located directly in the district capital city and the centre of the other is located approximately three kilometres away on the road to Oudomxay.
A joint Department of Livestock and Fisheries (DLF) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) team has been on field mission since Feb. 14 to directly advise the local authorities on adequate control measures and enabled good coordination.
The villagers of the bird flu stricken area were informed of the necessary actions to control the disease, including movement control, culling and disinfection, and ban on poultry selling.
At present, the ongoing surveillance is being conducted not only in Phongsaly but also in the other neighboring provinces in order to ensure the rapid detection of new avian flu cases in the poultry population. (VNA)
