Via Xinhua: Vietnam's avian flu outbreak "not alarming:" FAO official. Excerpt:
Vietnam's avian flu outbreak this year is below the level of last year, so it is not so alarming in general, said Hiroyuki Konuma, regional representative in Asia for UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Thursday.
So far this year, 14 out of 63 Vietnamese cities and provinces have reported the avian flu cases, mostly in the South. However, this is lower than the figure of the same period last year, Konuma said at a press conference on the sidelines of the 31st FAO's Asia- Pacific Regional Conference.
Most of the reported cases are of H5N1 virus, but with new characteristics. The outbreak was attributed to increasing consumption of poultry during Lunar New Year and the cold weather, he added.
