Health Brief: Avian Flu Makes A Comeback in Asia

12/28/2024

In 2003, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MOH) reported that the first person in the country was infected by influenza virus H5N1. After 9 years, the number of deaths increased to 62 people. Recently, a boy in Cao Lanh district is a newest victim of H5N1.

Vietnam’s neighbor to the north, China, is now reporting that many of its citizens have been afflicted with a new strain of the influenza virus, H7N9. According to the health reports, H7N9 virus is more virulent and dreadful than H5N1 virus. It is not yet known whether H7N9 can be transmitted among humans. Therefore, it is extremely important that Vietnam monitors the health status of each domestic or foreign traveler to prevent the spread of H7N9 virus. At the two major international airports, Tan Son Nhat Airport and Noi Bai Airport, health institutions have set up several checkpoints for health clearance. Also, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health has begun making plans should an epidemic later occur.

Avian flu can also have repercussions on Vietnam’s development, as well as its public health. Vietnam is still largely an agricultural country, and many farmers could lose money investing in poultry. If nothing is done to prevent this epidemic, Vietnamese farmers could face another massive cremation of their poultry.

Moreover, preventive medicine is still underdeveloped in Vietnam. Many farmers do not have enough financial assets to support regular health checkups for their poultry. In addition, H5N1 virus is easily transmitted from poultry to human by physical contacts. The environment, near to the farm, is unsafe for daily works such as using water for cooking or making the foods from their farm’s poultry. To overcome the happening of avian flu epidemic, farmers need to fully understand how to distinguish between health and unhealthy poultry; moreover, they are able to protect their family and themselves from the avian flu’s contagiousness.