PANO – The US is providing Vietnam with 4,000 sets of personal protective equipment and 100 boxes of biodegradable powder, which is enough to produce over 20,000 litres of disinfectant in order to help veterinarians respond quickly to new outbreaks of avian and H1N1 (swine) influenza.

The assistance package, valued at over US $57,000 and implemented by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) comes at the request of Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with technical support from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

It is being sent to veterinary departments in 10 provinces throughout the country which are believed to be most at risk of bird or swine flu or in greatest need of the supplies: Can Tho, Ha Nam, Hau Giang, Hung Yen, Kien Giang, Quang Binh, Quang Ngai, Quang Tri, Thai Nguyen, and Tra Vinh.

The protective gear is for use in high-risk provinces to prevent human exposure to the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus and will be used by outbreak responders and others involved in identifying and controlling H5N1 or H1N1 in Vietnam.

The gear will limit the risk of animal-to-animal and animal-to-human infection during outbreak response activities such as disposing of infected poultry or pigs and decontaminating poultry or pig raising areas.  

The package of materials is necessary to appropriately disinfect farms that have suffered outbreaks, in turn helping prevent the spread of outbreaks to neighbouring farms.

The US Government has provided more than US $33.5 million to support Vietnam’s programs to combat avian influenza since 2005.

Mai Huong