Despite Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia putting measures in place against a potential bird flu outbreak, officials have assured that the bird flu does not present a significant threat to Laos at the moment.
An official from the Department of Livestock and Fisheries spoke with the Laotian Times where she informed that the government issues warnings about animal-related diseases every year and they have done the same after Bird Flu was detected in Cambodia recently after a gap of 14 years.
She also stated that bird flu is not a new disease in Laos, as there was an outbreak in 2004, and that there is a surveillance system in place to monitor the spread of the illness among livestock and fisheries in every province and district, as well as veterinary centers in every village.
Additionally, Laos already has a rule in place that prohibits the importation of chickens for consumption, which reduces the risk of livestock and also humans contracting the disease.
The government only allows the importing of hens for breeding and producing eggs through an approved procedure, according to the official.
“The most important thing is that each breed of chicken imported into Laos must be examined for the danger of spreading disease,” she added.
“We also do a background check on the farm where the hens are raised to verify if the farm has been approved by higher-ups. The Lao government will not allow imports if no authorization is obtained,” she informed.
