US embassy cable - 05HOCHIMINHCITY891

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000891 
 
SIPDIS 
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C O R R E C T E D   C O P Y - REMOVING PASS LINE 
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SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR FOR CA/OCS/ACS/EAP; EAP/EX; EAP/BCLTV; 
STATE FOR OES/STC (M.GOLDBERG); OES/IHA (D.SINGER AND 
N.COMELLA) 
BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC, USAID/RDM/A (MFRIEDMAN) 
STATE PASS HHS/OGHA (WSTEIGER, EELVANDER, ABHAT) 
USDA FOR FAS/PASS TO APHIS 
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA/AP FOR LEW STERN 
USAID FOR ANE AND GH (DCAROLL, SCLEMENTS AND PCHAPLIN) 
DEPT PASS TO AID 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, ECON, AMED, TBIO, CASC, PGOV, SENV, SOCI, VM, AFLU 
SUBJECT: AVIAN FLU: POULTRY VACCINATION BEGINS IN TIEN GIANG 
PROVINCE 
 
REF:  HCMC 0855 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary:  A ConGen visit to southern Tien Giang 
Province provided insights into the way in which Vietnam is 
handling poultry vaccinations as a means of halting the 
spread of avian influenza.  Tien Giang is one of two 
provinces nation-wide that will serve as a starting point 
for the GVN's poultry inoculation program.  The Department 
of Animal Health (DAH) in Tien Giang appears to have 
mobilized all available provincial resources in order to 
disseminate information about the vaccination drive, obtain 
current figures about the poultry population in the province 
and administer the vaccine in a speedy and thorough manner. 
Questions may still remain, however, about the vaccine's 
effectiveness.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (SBU) EconOff traveled to Tien Giang Province to discuss 
the vaccination program with local officials and to observe 
vaccinations.  According to Mrs. Nguyen Viet Nga, Director 
of the Animal Health Bureau, Tien Giang was one of the 
hardest hit provinces during the AI outbreak of 2003-04, and 
by a directive of the Prime Minister was one of two 
provinces chosen to be the first to begin inoculating 
poultry.  Tien Giang's DAH estimated there are 350,000 
households in the province, 250,000 of which raise chickens. 
Tien Giang has a poultry population of approximately 3 
million, of which 65% are backyard variety or non- 
commercial. 
 
3.  (SBU) In mid-July, before commencing vaccinations, the 
provincial People's Committee and the DAH introduced the 
program to officials at the provincial and district levels. 
Next, information about the program was disseminated to the 
general public through local TV and radio, and written 
information was disbursed with the help of the Youth Union, 
Women's Union and Farmer's Union.  Local authorities 
estimated that some 800 people -- or five to seven per 
commune -- worked on the information campaign. 
 
4.  (SBU) Tien Giang DAH instructed district and commune 
People's Committees to conduct a survey of the poultry 
population using a form prepared by the Animal Health Bureau 
of Tien Giang.  Afterwards, a schedule was disseminated, 
outlining days when specific households would be visited. 
Residents were responsible for having their poultry penned 
on the day of the inoculation team's visit.  One to three 
people make up each team.  Team members wear masks and 
protective gloves and carry two bottles of vaccine made in 
China, H5N2 vaccine for chickens and H5N1 vaccine for ducks. 
The owner is given gloves and a mask and assists the team in 
rounding up the poultry and holding the birds as the vaccine 
is injected in their necks.  Each inoculator, during the 
process of visiting approximately 15 households, uses on 
average four gloves and four masks a day.  Gloves and masks 
are collected at the end of the day and disposed of in 
landfill or incinerated.  The teams give poultry owners a 
document verifying the number and type of poultry 
vaccinated, as well as follow-up information regarding the 
health of the birds.  In the future if there is to be any 
culling of poultry, farmers will have to present these 
documents verifying their compliance with the vaccine 
program, in order to receive government compensation.   The 
team keeps a record of where it has been, as well as data on 
the number and type of vaccines administered.  Approximately 
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1,200 people, including 50 DAH staff members, 129 
veterinarians and contract employees are involved in 
implementing the vaccination program. 
 
5.  (SBU) Tien Giang launched the vaccination program on 
July 30 in three communes and plans to complete the first 
round of vaccine shots in all 167 communes by the end of 
August.  As of August 11, 609,140 birds had been inoculated: 
426,522 chickens and 182,618 ducks.  The Ministry of 
Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) determined that 
only chickens that were already over 70 days old and those 
that farmers intended to raise for more than 70 days were to 
be inoculated, unless the farmer intended to sell the bird 
during the month of August.  After a bird is inoculated, the 
farmer is not permitted to sell the bird for another 28 
days.  Tien Giang's DAH reported that at the end of the 
campaign -- estimated to wrap up by the end of September -- 
it will have inoculated 75-90% of the birds targeted. 
According to the MARD, the next provinces in southern 
Vietnam scheduled to begin the vaccination program in 
September will be Ho Chi Minh City, Long An and Ben Tre. 
 
6.  (SBU) Comment:  The MARD's poultry inoculation campaign 
has begun in Tien Giang Province as scheduled and for the 
most part appears to be proceeding as planned.  Authorities 
in Tien Giang seem to be going to significant lengths to 
ensure that people are well informed of the vaccination 
program, that there is a reliable accounting of the poultry 
population an that te program is implemented in a quick 
and efficient manner.  If the bird inoculation effort is 
carried out successfully, benefits of the program will 
include slowing the spread of AI, raising awareness of 
farmers about AI, building trust between farmers and the 
authorities, and providing lessons for future government 
action on avian influenza.  The program is only as effective 
as its vaccine, however, and according to Intervet, a 
competitor, there is little or no data available about the 
effectiveness of the Chinese vaccine being used (reftel). 
End Comment. 
 
WINNICK