Bird flu re-outbreaks, increasing the burden of disease

On the morning of November 2, Mr. Hoang Van Nam, Deputy Director of the Department of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) confirmed that the information of H5N1 avian influenza has re-emerged after a long period of silence.

Mr. Nam said that the outbreak of bird flu is Dien Bien province. According to SDAH's report, from 21 to 23 October 2009, sick and dead poultry were discovered at 7 households in team 2, Noong Luong commune and 2 households in 12b commune. Thanh Yen, Dien Bien district.

Test results of the specimens have determined the number of dead poultry positive for influenza A / H5N1 virus. SDAH of Dien Bien Province has implemented anti-epidemic measures as prescribed. By October 24, SDAH destroyed 2,283 poultry in the epidemic.

Since 2003, when the first case of H5N1 in Vietnam was discovered, there have been 55 deaths from this deadly virus. Along with Indonesia, Vietnam is one of the two countries with the most deaths from H5N1.

Avian influenza is returning to raise concerns about the A / H5N1 influenza virus that can recombine with influenza A / H1N1 virus to create a new virus with a fast and highly virulent spread rate (Photo: Sketch: VNN)

According to the report of the Ministry of Health, from the beginning of 2009 to now, the number of cases of influenza A / H5N1 in Vietnam is 4 people. The current mortality rate is 100% (4 people are infected, all 4 died). Cases of deaths and deaths from the latest bird flu (A / H5N1) in Vietnam appeared in March 2009.

In recent months, when influenza A / H1N1 appeared in the world, health experts are concerned that the virus strain may mutate and recombine with H5N1 virus and create a new dangerous virus. .

Mr. Nguyen Hong Ha, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Infectious and Tropical Diseases worries: ' The flu virus does not have genetic stability. It has the ability to recombine, sort and mutate very high. Influenza A / H1N1 virus has spread rapidly but does not cause much death. While the H5N1 influenza virus is highly fatal, its spread is low. Thus, if these two strains of the virus recombine, creating a new virus that has both a rapid spread and high mortality due to a large virulence, the situation will become extremely dangerous, complicated . '