LOC10:33
07:33 GMT
KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (KUNA) -- Vietnamese authorities have halted
nationwide vaccination of poultry against bird flu for a new type of the H5N1
virus has rendered the vaccine ineffective.
The Vietnamese animal authority, in a statement released on Friday, said it
halted the vaccination campaigns against the bird flu because the virus has
mutated into a new form, immune to be killed with vaccination.
The virus has recently spread widely in areas in the north, south and
center of the nation.
The H5N1 was first discovered in poultry farms in Vietnam in 2003. Up to
553 persons have been infected with the virus in 15 countries, and it has also
taken lives of 232 persons, mostly from Asia -- including 59 from Vietnam.
(end)
aib.rk
KUNA 271033 May 11NNNN