Poultry in big cities to be slaughtered

Vietnam plans to slaughter poultry in big cities in order to prevent bird flu from claiming more victims, an agricultural official said today, part of a plan to move bird-rearing out of urban areas and submit it to tighter controls.It has been banned in Ho Chi Minh City. So far 1.5 million chickens and ducks have been culled in the country.

The bird flu virus in humans normally attacks the lungs causing breathing problems, but a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine said it can harm all parts of the body and cause other symptoms not normally associated with it, such as stomach illness. (Channel News Asia Feb. 17, Associated Press Feb. 17).