Avian influenza A/H5N6 virus appears for the first time in Vietnam
According to the announcement of the Department of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), through proactive monitoring, a number of cases positive for influenza A/H5N6 were detected in chicken flocks in Trang Dinh district, Lang Son province and in duck flocks in Ky Anh district, Ha Tinh province. This is the first time the influenza A/H5N6 virus has been recorded in Vietnam.
Genetic sequencing tests of A/H5N6 influenza virus samples detected in Vietnam showed a 99% similarity to the A/H5N6 influenza virus strain that first caused human infection and death in Sichuan province, China in April 2014 and in poultry in the area where this patient lived.
According to the World Health Organization, this is a highly virulent virus strain and there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, so monitoring and surveillance of the new virus strain must be carried out closely to respond promptly when an outbreak occurs in poultry. This virus strain has been detected in flocks of wild ducks and birds in Sweden, Germany, the US, Taiwan... Last July, in Laos, poultry samples were also found positive for AH5N6 influenza but did not transmit clinical disease to poultry.
To proactively prevent and control A/H5N6 flu from spreading from poultry to humans, the Ministry of Health has just issued an urgent dispatch requesting the People's Committees of provinces and cities to direct the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to strengthen monitoring, investigation and early detection of avian flu outbreaks; closely coordinate with relevant units to prevent smuggling, strictly control the transportation and trade of poultry and poultry products; promptly notify the health sector of the avian flu situation to coordinate monitoring and early detection of A/H5N6 flu cases in humans.
According to VOV
