(VOVworld) – The Department of Animal Health has collected samples at border areas and local markets to test for the bird flu A/H5N1 and prevent the A/H7N9 influenza from entering Vietnam. The Department is helping localities implement an emergency action plan the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has just approved in response to virulent strains which are likely to attack humans.

Poultry is tested at Dong Ha market in the central province of Quang Tri. (Photo: VNA)

Deputy Head of the Department Do Xuan Thanh said measures necessary to prevent the spread of the high risk A/H7N9 virus include closely checking the trading and transportation of poultry of unknown origin and monitoring poultry markets and centralized breeding farms for early pathogen detection.

Deputy Head of the Department of Animal Health Do Xuan Thanh (Photo: VOV)

Thanh talked about the emergency action plan: "Under the instruction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, our department has established teams to carry out avian flu prevention and control procedures in localities and 8 rapid-reaction teams to deal with any outbreak. Their job is to take samples of poultry in high risk areas such as market places and border gates. The samples are being taken twice a week instead of once a fortnight as we did previously."

The A/H7N9 virus has not yet been found in the 17,000 samples taken.