Bird flu has hit Vietnam's northern Bac Ninh province since May 25, raising the total number of affected localities nationwide to 10, according to a local veterinary agency on Monday.

The disease killed 510 ducks and 60 chickens out of a total flock of 950 fowls raised by a household in the province's Thuan Thanh district, the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said, noting that specimens from the affected poultry have been tested positive to bird flu virus strain H5N1.

Local veterinary agencies have culled all fowls in affected flocks, disinfected affected areas, and established quarantine checkpoints around the areas.

Bird flu has hit 10 Vietnamese cities and provinces, namely Quang Ninh, Son La, Nam Dinh, Hai Phong, Bac Giang, Ninh Binh and Bac Ninh in the northern region, Nghe An in the central region, and Can Tho and Dong Thap in the southern one, since early this month.

Bird flu outbreaks in Vietnam, starting in December 2003, have killed and led to the forced culling of dozens of millions of fowls in the country.

Source: Xinhua