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Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has issued a directive calling for urgent action to control avian influenza during the 2025-2026 winter-spring season. The goal is to protect food supply stability before, during, and after the 2026 Lunar New Year.
Since early 2025, 39 outbreaks have been recorded in 13 provinces and cities, with more than 88,000 poultry culled.
Authorities assess the risk of further outbreaks as very high due to several compounding factors:
- Seasonal weather changes that lower poultry immunity
- Prolonged flooding that spreads pathogens and polluting farming environments
- High-density poultry farming, with small-scale operations still dominant and biosecurity measures limited
- Increased poultry slaughter, transport, and trade to meet Tet demand, while informal slaughtering remains widespread
- Low vaccination rates in some localities and insufficient disease surveillance
Emergency measures and local responsibilities
The ministry has instructed provincial and municipal leaders to take immediate steps:
- Fully implement the 2025 disease prevention plan and develop the 2026 plan before December 31, 2025, ensuring adequate funding for veterinary activities
- Strengthen grassroots veterinary systems, ensuring commune-level staff can handle surveillance and response demands
- Declare outbreaks promptly to prevent delays that enable spread and mobilize broader political support when necessary
- Boost vaccination efforts, ensuring at least 80% of poultry requiring vaccination are immunized in late 2025 and early 2026
- Intensify surveillance in high-risk and previously affected areas
- Promptly eradicate detected cases and penalize concealment of outbreaks or improper disposal of dead poultry
Tighter controls and public awareness
Local authorities are required to:
- Strengthen quarantine and inspection of poultry transport and products
- Crack down on illegal trading, transport, and slaughtering of poultry
- Guide farmers to apply biosecurity measures, disinfect farms daily, and prevent pathogen spread through intermediate animals
Mass media agencies are tasked with increasing public awareness of avian influenza risks and prevention.
Provincial Departments of Agriculture and Environment must form inspection teams to monitor and respond to outbreaks swiftly.
The ministry also directed the Department of Livestock Production and Veterinary Services to coordinate with relevant units to support and guide key localities in disease prevention and control.