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Prevention and control of animal diseases worldwide
Part I: Economic analysis: prevention versus outbreak costs
Three basic systems of poultry production are identified in Vietnam: family, semi-commercial and
commercial/industrial (A9, A16). An estimated 60-70% of poultry is raised in ‘backyard’ family farms
(sectors 3 and 4) in close proximity to other birds. In fact, some 94% of the poultry keeping households
are reported to fall in the category of a village and scavenging backyard system (A91). Few systems could
be classified as being in sector 1 (industrial farms), and these account for 20-25% of the national
production. The remainder 10-15% of poultry production is carried out by semi-industrial/commercial
farms (sector 2). Poultry is generally sold live in local markets and slaughtered at home, while only a
small number of birds are processed through slaughterhouses.
The relatively low costs of raising poultry relative to cattle or pigs make it the most popular livestock
enterprise in Vietnamese rural households, constituting an important source of cash income – particularly
for women – thus contributing significantly to poverty alleviation. It is estimated that some 70% of
Vietnam’s 12 million rural households keep poultry. Poultry is the most important livestock-based income
source for the poorest quintile, providing about 7% of cash income for these households, as well as being
a relatively inexpensive protein source for their own consumption.
A classification of Vietnam’s socio-economic position in the world, as carried out for the purposes of this
study, can be found in Annex 3.
5.2.1.2. Key AH problem areas
Vietnam was selected as a representative case study in Asia because of the HPAI relevance, both in terms
of the significance of the outbreaks and in terms of the approach followed and the mobilisation of the
international community.
The country suffers from a number of high risk factors with respect to AI. Apart from having a relatively
high share of sector 3 and 4 poultry systems as discussed above, Vietnam is one of the most densely
populated countries in the region and has one of the highest concentration ratios of poultry (501 chicken
per sq. km, 716 domestic birds per sq. km) particularly in the areas affected by AI (A16). Further risks
arise from farm management practices (close contact with animals and between domestic birds and wild
birds) and along the value chain (particularly live bird markets) (A9). A final set of risks, particularly in
the first wave of AI in early 2004, emerged from poor knowledge of the disease and how it spread (though
this is less prevalent now), and from stakeholders’ efforts to circumvent the control measures imposed
(this was not helped by the compensation policy that was first adopted, as will be discussed below) (A3,
A9, A258).
Since the outbreak of the HPAI H5N1 strain in December 2003, in the three waves of the epidemic 106 ,
Vietnam has accumulated by far the largest number of outbreaks in the world (2,368) or 52% of the total
106 According to WHO, the spread of HPAI can be categorised into three waves. The first wave of the disease lasted
from December 2003 until March 2004, when disease spread to 57 of Vietnam’s 64 provinces resulting to 44 million
birds dead/culled (including affected and non-affected birds) and the death of 16 people. The second wave, which
was mainly confined to 17 provinces, began in April 2004 and lasted through November, resulting in the culling of
84,000 poultry (all of which were clinically affected), and claimed four people. A third wave of the disease began in
December 2004, and until mid 2006 about 1.9 million birds had been slaughtered and twenty two people had died.
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