Imaging Our Mekong - Avian Flu

VIETNAM: On the Trail of Smugglers

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:27:44 -0500

Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh, Reporters, Vietnam Digital Television (VTC), Vietnam

At the Vietnam-China frontier area, authorities spend sleepless nights. The place is a hotspot for smugglers, especially those who illegally transport chicken from China to Vietnam via different roads.

To make this daring documentary, Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh pretended to be tourists and interviewed an illegal transporter who guided them through the dark and complicated world of chicken smugglers.

What’s more alarming than the illegality of the act is the possibility that these law breakers are facilitating the spreading of the H5N1 virus or avian flu.

Coping with Avian Flu

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:26:37 -0500

Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh, Reporters, Vietnam Digital Television (VTC), Vietnam

After over 4 years of avian flu incidence, are the Vietnamese and the Chinese now fully prepared to combat this threat to health and livelihood?

“China Border” explores the impact of the long bout with the H5N1 virus on the ways of life of poultry farmers in Vietnam and China.

Cockfighting and Avian Flu

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:25:50 -0500

Khamdeng Thounlevilay, Producer, National Film Archive and Video Center, Lao PDR

In the midst of excitement during a game or a sporting event, safety is not on top of the minds of participants and spectators. In the thrill of a cockfight, breeders, caretakers and gamblers may disregard the risk of contracting avian flu.

This is why in Lao PDR, cockfighting arenas are banned by the authorities in big cities like Vientiane. They are allowed only in remote communities, where it is easier to screen the animals. Authorities from both Laos and Thailand have also prohibited the transporting of birds across the Lao-Thai border.

Laos and Thailand Link Up

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:29:34 -0500

Lamngeune Latsaath, Producer, Lao National Television

The bird flu outbreak of 2007 in Lao PDR was far more grave than the country’s previous experiences with the disease. The Second Friendship Bridge, which links Laos to Thailand and Vietnam, has brought not only trade to the province, but also carriers of the avian flu virus. It spread in four provinces in the country, and affected human beings, something that the Lao people have not experienced.

Mekong Delta Farmers on Bird Flu Alert

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:27:16 -0500

By Tran Dinh Thanh Lam

CAN THO, Vietnam, Jun 30 (Newsmekong) - The bustling city of Can Tho is the capital of southern Vietnam’s fertile Mekong Delta and one of the country’s two main rice baskets.

HEALTH: Vietnam Reports Headway in Human Vaccine on Bird Flu

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:04:02 -0500

Tran Dinh Thanh Lam

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Jun 3 (Newsmekong) - Vietnamese researchers have announced significant progress in their effort to develop a prototype vaccine for the H5N1 avian influenza, despite criticism from some scientists that their methods are “unorthodox”.

LAOS: Threat of Avian Flu Far from Over

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:26:39 -0500

Ounkeo Souksavanh

VIENTIANE, Jun 1 (Newsmekong) - An outbreak of avian flu in northern Laos earlier this year has demonstrated that despite the government’s ongoing vigilance, this South-east Asian country faces a continuing threat from the disease.

For Small Poultry Farms, Uncertainty Ahead

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:50:03 -0500

Thananuch Sanguansak

KANCHANABURI, Thailand - Mornings at Don Ngiew, a village in Phanom Thuan district in this western province, are eerily silent these days. The clucking of chickens that used to wake farmers up, signalling the start of another day at the rice fields, has been replaced by the mechanical whirr of alarm clocks.

Laos: Lessons from Outbreaks

Fri, 30 May 2008 03:04:22 -0500

Phong Thammavongse

The first outbreak of avian flu in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in early 2004 struck 45 poultry farms throughout the country, 38 of which were in and around the capital of Vientiane. The outbreak resulted in the loss of 155,000 birds, a third of which were infected by the disease.

Bird Flu Fears Keep Guests Away

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 01:13:02 -0600

Yin Leangkong

PREY VENG, Cambodia - It was a wedding party without guests. The neighbours were afraid to come because they did not want to eat the food, especially chicken, served at the party. The hosts were being discriminated against, all because of an outbreak of bird flu.

In Vietnam, Bird Flu Fighters Have Ducks in Their Sights

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 04:50:30 -0600

Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Nov 30 (IPS Asia-Pacific) - As the temperature drops and another cool season approaches, Vietnam's duck population is coming under attention because it is suspected to have become vulnerable to the avian influenza virus.

Asia's Farmers Unfazed by Bird Flu

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 04:42:09 -0600

Lynette Corporal

BANGKOK, Nov 6 (Newsmekong/IPS Asia-Pacific) - It may look like everything is going against them but with a little bit of luck, lots of hard work and creativity, small poultry farmers who have been affected by avian flu outbreaks have a good chance of economic survival, say experts here.

ASIA: Four Years On, Unanswered Questions Abound on Avian Flu

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:13:02 -0500

Jaime Lim

CHIANG RAI, Thailand, Oct 16 (Newsmekong) – It has been four years
after the first outbreak of avian flu, but experts say many key
questions hover around the disease – what kind of contact between

'Avian Flu Spread by Poultry, Not Wild Birds'

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 04:54:21 -0600

Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Sep 3 (IPS Asia-Pacific) - The search for answers to the spread of the bird flu virus is calling into question a long-held practice in science where recognition is given to positive test results, say experts meeting in the Thai capital.

Smuggling Continues, Despite Cambodian Ban

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:53:56 -0500

Duong Sokha

POIPET, Cambodia – At 7.30 a.m., some 50 porters were already lined up in front of the border post here, fidgeting with their carts as they waited to be allowed to cross over to Thailand.

When the Poipet international gate finally opened, the bustling trade on both sides of the border between Cambodia and Thailand began for the day.