People cooperation needed to tackle bird flu

People cooperation needed to tackle bird flu
Ho Chi Minh City - Community surveillance networks will help health officials in Vietnam tackle bird flu and mitigate its effects, the country's Health Department deputy director Dr Le Trung Giang said.

Bird flu hit Vietnam in 2003, with the first and the majority of the outbreaks occurring in and around Ho Chi Minh.

Health officials were unable to control the virus, lacking money to halt its spread. Six people were infected, three of whom died.

Le said Vietnam had spent three years striving to control the virus. It found education was the best way to prevent human infections.

Health officials have established community networks to watch for outbreaks in bird populations. These are especially effective in bigger cities where the virus is difficult to control.

"We want people to help us to control bird flu," he said.

Community networks immediately report any suspected infection to officials. A department rapidresponse unit sends in an emergency team to control the outbreak, he explained.

"Health officials have to strengthen community knowledge so they are more aware of the virus by telling them the truth about how to prevent themselves from catching it," he said.

The first thing a community does is isolate a sufferer, get them to a clinic for treatment and test and monitor those living with or coming into contact with a carrier.

The government has established checkpoints across the country where poultry are examined for signs of the virus.

Farms are banned from inside city limits and all flocks are coded, for easy checking.

Where poultry become infected they are destroyed immediately. Farmers are fined or punished if they fail to report or try to hide an outbreak.

The virus disappeared from Vietnam in 2006, but reappeared this year. Seven people became infected, four of whom died.

"There is no answer from health officials as to why the disease reemerged this year. We need to find out why," Le added.

Experts remain in the dark about how outbreaks occur in Vietnam. Nevertheless, they are confident the disease will not mutate into a form easily transmitted among people.

by Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation