HANOI, Oct. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Vietnam will import additional 220 million doses of bird flu vaccines in the coming time to speed up vaccination among fowls against bird flu strains of H5N1 and H5N2.     

    The country, which has so far imported a total of 120 million doses from China and the Netherlands, has vaccinated nearly 100 million fowls in 37 cities and provinces, local newspaper Pioneer on Monday quoted Bui Quang Anh, director of the Vietnam Veterinary Department, as saying.

    Among the 20 million doses imported late last week, 7 million will be distributed to nine northern localities, including Thai Binh, Bac Ninh, Hanoi, Ha Tay, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh and Hai Phong, he said, stating that Vietnam will complete the first batch of fowl vaccination in high-risk areas nationwide by late November as targeted.

    The Vietnamese government has recently decided to spend 700 billion Vietnamese dong (44.3 million US dollars) on vaccinating poultry. All fowls in all of 64 cities and provinces will have been vaccinated by late March 2007.

    The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has mapped out a plan to join hands with Chinese vaccine producers so that they will transfer their technologies to Vietnam. Made-in-Vietnam vaccines are expected to come out in 2008.

    The ministry has just regulated that all cattle and poultry nationwide must be vaccinated against six diseases, namely foot-and-mouth, pigs' cholera, anthrax, ducks' cholera, Newcastle and pasteurella multocida. Enditem