(VOVworld)- The Vietnamese health and agricultural sectors held a conference in Hanoi yesterday to call for technical and financial support from the government and international organizations to prevent AH7N9 influenza in Vietnam. Leaders of the health sector stressed the importance of international support in prevention, monitoring, control and communication to minimize the impacts of AH7N9 flu on people’s health and the national economy. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam said: “Vietnam is coping with the complications of AH5N1 and AH1N1 influenza and the spreading threat of H7N9 flu. These are major challenges requiring the participation of both the agriculture and the health sectors. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has directed animal health departments at all levels to strengthen monitoring to detect early the signs of an epidemic and prepare response measures to prevent the spread of AH7N9 flu”.

So far no A/H7N9 cases have been reported in Vietnam in either poultry or humans.