Asia - Vietnam raises compensation for bird-flu culls

Vietnam, the country hit hardest by bird flu, has increased compensation for farmers whose infected poultry are being culled in an effort to contain the spread of the virus, officials said Tuesday. Farmers will be paid an average of 15,000 dong (US$0.95; Â€0.78) for each bird killed, up from 10,000 dong (US$0.63; Â€0.52), under a decision signed by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The compensation applies to the period between Dec. 1, 2004, to Dec. 31, 2005. "The raise aims at lessening the losses of farmers and also encouraging them to cooperate with the government in the fight against bird flu," said Bui Quang Anh, director of the Animal Health Department. Authorities had discovered instances of farmers selling sick poultry to markets, because the compensation had been only a third of the birds' market value. Bird flu killed or forced the culling of about 45 million birds since it ravaged poultry farms across Vietnam in late 2003. It jumped to humans, killing 38 in Vietnam, 12 in Thailand and four from Cambodia. Most of the bird flu cases had been traced to contact with sick birds. Medical experts fear the virus may mutate into a form which can pass easily between humans, triggering a global pandemic in which millions of people could die. However, there is so far no evidence to suggest that the virus has altered its form.