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Vietnam confirms fourth bird flu death
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-13 13:54
Vietnam confirmed on Thursday that an 18-year-old woman from southern Vietnam
died of bird flu, the country's fourth death from the virus in two weeks.
The woman from Hau Giang province died Monday, more than a week after she
slaughtered a chicken.
Dr. Phan Van Tu, chief virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh
City, said tests showed she had the fatal H5N1 strain of the virus that ravaged
poultry farms across 10 countries in Asia last year, jumping to humans in
Thailand and Vietnam.
A Vietnamese chicken vendor loads
a basket with chickens onto the back of his motorbike at a market in
central Hanoi, Vietnam in this Jan. 25, 2004 file photo. Vietnam confirmed
on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005 that an 18-year-old woman from southern Vietnam
died of bird flu, the country's fourth death from the virus in two
weeks. [AP/File] | Vietnam said one other woman being treated at a hospital has also tested
positive for the disease, which is re-emerging in Asia at a vulnerable time.
Thousands are homeless after a tsunami devastated countries elsewhere in
Southeast Asia on Dec. 26, killing 150 people in 11 nations.
The World Health Organization in Geneva said earlier this week that
surveillance is being stepped up in some areas.
But "there is no proof so far that the tsunami has caused any increased
pandemic risk," said Klaus Stohr, WHO's influenza chief, adding that the
situation could change if bird flu spreads to disaster-hit regions.
Speaking at a conference Thursday, Health Minister Tran Thi Trung Chien said
urgent measures were needed to stop the spread of the disease.
"The situation requires works to prevent bird flu to be carried out
immediately with strong, resolute and effective measures," she said.
Medical experts fear bird flu might mutate and create the world's next
influenza pandemic. So far, there has been no concrete evidence of
human-to-human transmission of the disease. Most patients have had contact with
sick birds.
Bird flu has killed 24 people in Vietnam and 12 in Thailand in the last year.
Health experts have warned that the bird flu virus was entrenched in Asia,
and would take years to eradicate. The World Health Organization reiterated
those warnings Thursday.
"The enemy is more elusive, more entrenched and the price of failure may be
even higher," said Hans Troedsson, WHO representative in Vietnam.
Vietnam has reported three other bird flu deaths in recent weeks, the first
since September. A 6-year-old boy died Dec. 30, a 9-year-old boy died Jan. 4,
and a 16-year-old girl died Saturday.
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