HANOI, Nov. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Nearly 1,500 ducks in Vietnam's central Quang Nam province and southern Long An province have diedin recent days, local newspaper Youth reported Wednesday.

    Some 500 ducks in Quang Nam's Thang Binh district have recently died. Local veterinary forces are collecting samples for bird flu virus testing.

    A farmer in Long An's Tan An town said he had burnt 800 dead ducks in recent days. Meanwhile, some 130 ducks raised by another farmer in Chau Thanh district have also died. Veterinary forces ofLong An have yet to define the cause of the ducks' deaths.

    Some 1,000 poultry in northern Bac Giang province died from Oct. 25 to 30, according to the provincial Veterinary Bureau Tuesday. Specimens taken from them are being tested for bird flu viruses, the bureau said.

    At a press briefing last week, Bui Quang Anh, director of the Vietnam Veterinary Department, said Vietnam has, since early last month, spotted two bird flu outbreaks, one in southern Dong Thap province and another in southern Bac Lieu province. Some 400 out of a flock of 600 ducks in Dong Thap, and part of a flock of more than 1,000 ducks in Bac Lieu died of bird flu.

    Vietnam is facing a high risk of large bird flu outbreaks, especially in the southern Mekong Delta and the northern Red Riverdelta, since weather conditions are favorable for the development of bird flu viruses, he said.

    Since early this year, the country has detected bird flu outbreaks in 35 cities and provinces nationwide, which have killedor led to the forced culling of over 1.5 million fowls, mainly ducks and chickens.

    Previous outbreaks starting in December 2003 killed and led to the forced culling of some 46.6 million fowls in Vietnam, causing losses of 3.5 trillion Vietnamese dong (221.5 million US dollars), according to the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Enditem