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The municipal People's Committee has just sent an urgent document to related departments, agencies; district people's committee, Thu Duc City on strengthening the prevention of influenza A (H5N1).
Under city authorities’ requests, the Department of Health must discover cases of severe pneumonia caused by the virus at all healthcare institutions, especially paying attention to those from epidemic areas. Moreover, healthcare workers must take samples for testing to determine the cause of the disease.
The health sector must increase supervision of people from influenza A epidemic areas and coordinate with animal quarantine departments in monitoring poultry and waterfowl entering Vietnam through the border gate. The health sector ought to work with departments of Agriculture and Rural Development to keep an eye on the disease for early detection of influenza outbreaks in poultry to put them under control according to regulations. Samples were taken for testing to determine the cause of the disease.
In addition, the sector must increase communication about measures to detect and prevent avian influenza such as personal hygiene, prohibition of consumption and trade of dead poultry and poultry products of unknown cause.
Infirmaries must ensure personnel, equipment, medical supplies, and drugs to receive, isolate and promptly treat infected cases with the aim to minimize severe cases and deaths. Healthcare workers in grassroots facilities should be trained in disease surveillance and prevention and they should work with veterinary specialized agencies in monitoring, detecting and isolating cases with suspected influenza symptoms in humans and newly emerging strains of the avian influenza virus.
The HCMC People's Committee requested the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to closely monitor the epidemiological situation in the area, especially the area bordering neighboring provinces; At the same time, the Department should give city authorities some advice on specific solutions on disease prevention.
Additionally, the Department should coordinate with Thu Duc City People's Committee and districts to guide poultry owners to strengthen the strict application of biosecurity measures in livestock production, ensuring hygiene and disease prevention; regularly clean and disinfect breeding areas to destroy pathogens; supervise the full vaccination against avian influenza vaccine for poultry flocks; continue to maintain the animal disease-free zone for avian influenza in Ho Chi Minh City.
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Last but not least, the Department should work closely with the health sector to monitor cases of influenza A virus infection in humans and poultry in order to issue early warnings about the risk of disease outbreaks and coordinate with specialized veterinary agencies of neighboring provinces in the prevention and control of avian influenza in order to strictly control the disease.
The city People's Committee also asked the Department of Transport to direct transport companies and cooperatives not to transport poultry and poultry products of unknown origin. Passenger coaches are not allowed to transport passengers along with poultry and poultry products. The City Steering Committee for Animal Disease Prevention and Control’s hotline has been placed on passenger transport vehicles so that passengers can promptly report violations.
The Ho Chi Minh City Market Surveillance Department was assigned to prevent and control the city's livestock and poultry diseases.
The food watchdog in Ho Chi Minh City directed food safety inspection teams to strengthen inspection of the origin of poultry products at wholesale markets and coordinate with interdisciplinary inspection teams of districts and Thu Duc city to check the origin of frozen products at storage warehouses and food processing business establishments. Inspectors will throw the book at owners of production facilities and processing facilities who have used poultry products of unknown origin and could not produce quarantine certificates.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development today issued the official letter 1030 on preventing the smuggled poultry and poultry products from abroad into Vietnam in the face of the risk of spreading the H5N1 flu epidemic.
The official dispatch signed by Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that Cambodian authorities reported an 11-year-old girl from Prey Veng Province had died from H5N1 lately.
Thus, to prevent the risk of disease infection due to the trade and consumption of poultry and poultry products smuggled into Vietnam from abroad, causing serious impacts on livestock development, food safety and residents’ health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed chairpersons of people's committees in provinces and cities to synchronously implement solutions in accordance with the Law on Veterinary Medicine and Decision No. 172/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister.
Local administration shall direct police forces and border guards to fight against criminals transporting and trading in smuggled poultry and poultry products across border crossings. Local governments must strictly handle violators and smugglers will be arrested in addition to increased propaganda to make people in border areas understand the dangers of avian influenza and the harmful effects of trading and transporting poultry without quarantine and of unknown origin.
