Preventing the smuggling of poultry from Cambodia to Vietnam

An Giang authorities issued dispatch No.179 to boost bird flu prevention and combat as soon as reports of human infections with avian influenza A/H5N1 (H5N1 bird flu) virus were reported in Cambodia.

To avoid the spread of bird flu, the An Giang People's Committee urged localities and departments to tighten controls and prohibit poultry smuggling across the border from Cambodia to Vietnam. Smuggling is believed to have a significant impact on the growth of the livestock sector, food safety, and community health.

According to Mr. Tran Anh Thu, Vice Chairman of the An Giang Province People's Committee, the Provincial People's Committee has requested that localities rigorously regulate the issue of transporting and dealing live poultry and poultry products. Therefore, it is critical to monitor disease trends in poultry flocks and to detect and control any outbreaks as soon as possible.

Increase personnel at quarantine stations at border gates to tightly regulate the circulation of individuals and poultry, as well as promote information to persuade people not to buy poultry of unknown origin from Cambodia.

It is critical for the province's agricultural sector to accelerate the deployment of measures to prevent and control illnesses in poultry, as well as to increase inspection, supervision, early identification of outbreaks, and comprehensive handling of outbreaks. Implement prompt efforts to avoid poultry infections in the province, which has around 5 million birds. Localities are recommended to increase avian influenza vaccination, manage slaughter according to rules, and tighten quarantine at border gates, particularly for Cambodian poultry entering the An Giang area.

Localities are being requested to strictly enforce slaughter control, quarantine, and the transportation and selling of poultry and poultry products in the province, providing information and communication to enhance people's awareness of the dangers of cross-border smuggling.

Increasing disease inspection and monitoring to quickly notify, manage and prevent disease spread. Actively and frequently examine and organize avian influenza vaccination for poultry flocks in accordance with rules.

Carefully enforce animal disease reporting using the online reporting system (VAHIS). Notify the health sector in a timely manner to coordinate steps to prevent and control zoonotic illnesses, and provide early warning of the potential of disease breakout.

The An Giang province People's Committee also proposed to the 389 Provincial Steering Committee to strengthen the inter-sectoral inspection team, organize inspection and timely detection, and resolutely handle cases of illegal trading and transporting poultry and poultry products in the area, particularly near the Cambodian border.

Handle cases of unlawful trafficking of poultry and poultry products into Vietnam with vigor. Buying and selling chicken and poultry products of unknown origin in the province is severely prohibited.

An Giang Department of Health focuses on monitoring and identifying instances of viral pneumonia in the area, giving special attention to cases with epidemiological histories from epidemic areas, and obtaining samples as soon as possible to ascertain the etiology of the sickness. Carefully monitor persons returning from places infected with H5N1 avian influenza, find instances of influenza and respiratory diseases of unknown origin in the population early, and coordinate prompt response to avoid spread.

In the current situation, the health sector of An Giang province must guarantee that resources, equipment, supplies, and medications are available to receive, isolate, and treat suspected or infected cases of H5N1 flu as soon as possible, in order to reduce severity and mortality.

Bird flu, commonly known as avian influenza, is mostly transmitted among poultry but can occasionally be transmitted from poultry to humans. It progresses quickly, and there is presently no particular therapy or vaccination for people. As the infection progresses to pneumonia, the death rate among affected persons might reach 70%. The WHO issued a warning on February 24 for all countries to be vigilant amid the rising number of avian flu cases in humans.