Vietnam has planned to build two international-standard labs for bird flu tests, according to local newspaper Labor on Thursday.

"The plan will be submitted to the government for approval by the end of this year. The construction cost of each lab is estimated at 65 billion Vietnamese dong (VND) (over 4.1 million US dollars)," the paper quoted Deputy Minister of Health Trinh Quan Huan as saying.

Vietnam has not detected any local people contracting bird flu virus strain H5N1 since early August, he added.

To prevent new bird flu outbreaks, Vietnam is conducting bird flu vaccination among fowls in 33 out of 64 cities and provinces. Under a recent instruction of the Vietnamese government, the vaccination among fowls, mainly chickens and ducks, must be completed by late November at the latest.

The government urged relevant ministries to rapidly cull infected fowls, isolate bird flu outbreaks, and forbid the transport of poultry as well as poultry products out of affected areas, if the disease is spotted in any localities.

According to local veterinary agencies, up to 70 percent of waterfowls in the southern Mekong Delta have been recently tested positive to H5N1. Vietnam has culled over 1,300 fowls in the eight localities of Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Can Tho, Tra Vinh, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Bac Ninh and Hanoi since early April.

To early detect infections among humans, the ministry is proposing the World Health Organization assist the country in establishing surveillance systems at 800 hospitals nationwide.

Besides, the United States has promised to offer 2.5 million dollars to help Vietnam boost its bird flu surveillance network over the next 5 years. The ministry has confirmed that a total of 64 local people from 25 localities had been infected with bird flu since early this year, of whom 21 died.

Source: Xinhua