Department director Pham Van Dong said on February 6 that the current wet weather creates favourable conditions for the bird flu virus to break out and spread.

Additionally, a series of spring festivals are being held across the country this month, increasing the demand for poultry products and encouraging the smuggling and illegal transport of poultry, particularly from China.

Meanwhile, the avian influenza A/H7N9 virus outbreaks are happening close to the border between the two countries, he said.

Although Vietnam has not recorded any case of bird flu caused by the A/H7N9 strain so far, there is still a high risk of it spreading to this country, he said, adding that the two countries share a long border, making it hard for authorities to control poultry smuggling.

Besides, the boom in poultry trading post-Tet (Lunar New Year) festival and during the ongoing spring festivals across the country are also opportunities for the virus to break out and spread, Dong said.

Live domestic fowls are still on sale in many localities of Hanoi such as Nguyen Cong Tru and Long Bien markets, in spite of a ban by the authorities. Poultry is even slaughtered right inside the markets or on the pavements.

A recent survey at 147 markets specialising in poultry trading in 44 localities revealed that bird flu viruses are found in 61% of the markets and 5.6% of ducks tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus.

Vietnam has recorded 127 cases of the H5N1 virus infection since 2013, including 64 deaths.

Bird flu infections affecting nearly 10,000 poultry were found in four communes of northern Bac Ninh Province last month. This is the first province that has been hit by bird flu this year.