Hospitals in Hanoi have reported an increasing number of people infected with influenza A since early this month, even though the flu is usually more prevalent during the transitions between winter and spring.

Facing the risk of avian influenza and other dangerous diseases entering Vietnam, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development wants to urgently stop illegally imported poultry so that Vietnam’s 500 million poultry flock can be protected.

An outbreak of the A/H5N8 bird flu has been detected in Quang Ninh province, marking the first time that the virus has appeared in the nation, according to Quang Ninh province’s Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary.

 A bird flu outbreak in north Germany this week was of a new subtype called H5N5, the first time the strain has been confirmed on a German farm, the country's national animal disease center said on Tuesday.

 Local authorities in France confirmed on Monday an outbreak of severe bird flu in the Deux-Sevres administrative department in the west of the country, an area previously unaffected by a recent spate of bird flu cases.

 Germany and Switzerland reported new outbreaks of a severe strain of bird flu on Saturday in the latest in a series of cases across Europe.

 Bird flu has been found in the corpses of wild ducks near Austria's border with Germany and Switzerland, Austrian authorities said on Tuesday, adding there was no evidence the virus could be transmitted to humans.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Health has ordered local authorities nationwide to roll out precautionary measures against the spread of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, to prevent any possible transmission to humans.

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VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Health has instructed the public to follow precautionary measures to prevent the A/H5N8 bird flu strain from spreading to Viet Nam after several cases were reported in European and Asian countries.

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 VietNamNet Bridge – The Animal Health Agency has said that from the beginning of the year, bird flu has appeared in 90 communes and districts of 33 provinces and cities in Vietnam. Of over 200,000 infected poultry, half of them are dead.

 VietNamNet Bridge - The Animal Health Department has reported that Vietnam is free from bird flu, with no new outbreaks detected in the last two weeks. However, foot-and-mouth disease has appeared in some locations.

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 VietNamNet Bridge – The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho reported on March 13 that a new subtype of H5N1 avian influenza virus, 2.3.2.1C, has been discovered in some outbreaks in the locality.

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