Govt urges stronger bird flu prevention measures

The government announced this week that it would increase monitoring measures on imported poultry at immigration checkpoints to prevent a further bird flu outbreak in Laos.

According to notice No 147 from the government secretariat, all poultry products imported from other countries need to be certified by health officials.

“Poultry with no certification from health officials will be confiscated and destroyed, and importers will be warned and fined,” the notice said, adding that more surveillance measures were needed in those areas where bird flu had occurred in the past.

The government has also urged entrepreneurs to raise poultry in farms that meet the correct hygiene standards. Families should raise their poultry in coops, rather than leaving the birds to roam, as the weather at this time of year is conducive to outbreaks of the virus.

The notice called on villagers and entrepreneurs to closely monitor the health of their poultry, and to inform authorities immediately following any bird deaths.

“The cooking and sale of dead poultry is absolutely banned,” the notice emphasised.

The government urged local authorities to monitor the trading of poultry at markets and other places where it is sold, to ensure no diseased poultry was put on sale.

Poultry stalls in markets will need to be isolated from other stalls, to keep markets as clean as possible, as determined by health officials.

If more than 40 percent of birds in a particular area die over a three-day period, or in cases where bird flu is suspected, culling measures must be implemented immediately without waiting for the results of laboratory tests.

In cases where the H5N1 virus is confirmed by a laboratory test, agriculture officials at all levels need to monitor the sites to identify Red Zones (outbreak sites), Yellow Zones (areas requiring strict surveillance) and Green Zones (areas under ordinary surveillance) prior to reporting the outbreak to the Mayor of Vientiane and district governors.

The notice also stipulated that all birds in Red Zones should be culled, and the movement of birds and poultry products should be restricted in Yellow Zones.

The government urged high-level officials in Vientiane and other provinces to supervise the relevant sectors in keeping the virus under control, and to generate information regarding the danger of the virus to the public.

If rumours were fanned for the purpose of panic, people should report this to authorities through the telephone hotline number 166.

The notice also urged collaboration between the National Avian and Human Influenza Coordinating Office, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of Public Health and international organisations including the World Health Organisation.

By Vientiane Times
(Latest Update January 30, 2008)