Vietnamese authorities have reported six cases of bird flu across five provinces in the past 21 days, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese state press VnExpress reports nearly 6,000 chickens have been killed or culled as a result of the outbreak.

Health officials are urging the public not to consume poultry from unknown origins and to seek help if they find sick or dead poultry.

The current outbreaks have been detected in the central province of Quang Ngai, as well as the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu.

There have been no human infections of bird flu reported in the past two years but the country is still at risk of receiving new strains of the virus due to trading and smuggling of poultry over border areas.

Cambodia and China have both recently suffered from outbreaks.

– TiVi Tuan-san