Vietnam hoping to declare it is bird flu-free at end of March.

(From Agence France Presse)

Vietnam is hoping to declare itself free from bird flu, the disease that has killed 15 people in the country and decimated poultry flocks, by the end of this month.

Le Huy Ngo, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Chairman of the National Bird Flu Control Committee, said the announcement would be made once all affected areas have eradicated infections.

In total, the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza has been detected in 57 out of the country's 64 provinces and cities.

More than 38 million birds or 15 percent of Vietnam's total poultry population have died or been slaughtered as a …