Illegally imported chicken brings bird flu threat back ( Hanoi, Vietnam )
Hanoi official warns of the danger of new bird flu outbreaks in the country due to the illegal importation of poultry into the country.
Deputy Health Minister Trinh Quan Huan said he wants checks at border crossings by Agricultural and Rural Development Ministry and other officials strengthened to prevent this from happening.
He also said that a great amount of poultry is being imported into the country bypassing the normal process of examining poultry for the H5N1 bird flu virus.
The World Health Organization had warned that the H5N1 virus had been detected in some China provinces, including those bordering Viet Nam.
Inspectors had reported that chicken from China was being sold at a very cheap VND5,000 ( $0.32 US ) per kg (2.2 pounds) and many people had bought it to re-sell inland at between VND40,000 ($2.52 US) and VND50,000 ($3.14 US) per kg (2.2 pounds).
More than 5.2 tons of illegally imported chicken and 150,000 eggs of unknown origin had been confiscated and destroyed in northern Quang Ninh Province earlier this month.