Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, on June 16, once again ordered ministries, agencies and localities to take urgent steps to contain the spread of avian influenza.

Education must be accelerated to raise public awareness of preventive measures, the PM told a meeting of the National Committee for Avian Influenza Prevention and Control and the National Committee for Controlling Avian Influenza in Humans.

He ordered the closure of all hatching businesses that fail to meet new tough guidelines, the culling of affected poultry and the reduction of free-range poultry farms.

Since the reemergence of bird flu in the country, 106 communes in 18 provinces have recorded outbreaks and five cases of human transmissions of the disease have occurred, with one confirmed dead.

The Ministry of Public Health said two of the patients have been discharged from hospital, but two were still undergoing treatment.

During the meeting, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed that an additional 200 million doses of vaccine should be imported into the country. (VNA)