Guys and girls, sorry to darken the holiday mood but those living in Vietnam, be warned of a possible wild bird flu endemic. Please share with fellow expats that can't read Vietnamese.
The Ministry of Health just issue a warning for a new rising endemic: strains of wild bird flu transmissible from animals to humans. They are all fatal.
They are broadcasting the warning all over Vietnamese mainstream news institution and papers in Vietnamese only. The official English version will take a couple days more so I'm sending you this to share with other expats who cannot read Vietnamese.
The 2 hot zones right now are North and South Vietnam.
South Vietnam: H5N1 strain from a rising endemic on the border between Cambodia and Vietnam, which is near the Mekong Delta zone (i.e. where we live)
North Vietnam: 2 new strains, H7N9 and H10N8, both fatal (30% fatality rate for H7N9 according to existing statistics), spreading from China to Vietnam across the border.
The ministry is urging every one to steer clear of poultry products of all kinds (not just chicken and ducks, any birds will do since the new strains originates from wild birds). Due to the approaching Tet, quality control will loosen while service and food demand rise so we are looking at a high possibility of a great endemic.
Here is the article on Tuoitre online: http://tuoitre.vn/Chinh-tri-xa-hoi/Song … nguoi.html