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New bird flu fatality reported in Vietnam
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-08-09 09:59
A 35-year-old man from Vietnam's southern Ben Tre, has just been confirmed to
die of bird flu, lifting the total fatal cases in the country to 41 since late
2003, local newspaper Young People reported Tuesday.
Tests by the Pasteur Institute in southern Ho Chi Minh City showed that the
man from the Ba Tri district named Phan Van Lu was infected with the virus
strain H5N1. He died at a provincial hospital on July 31, one day after being
hospitalized.
The man slaughtered two dead chickens for meal on July 25. He was the first
patient in Ben Tre to die of bird flu.
Last week, Vietnam's Health Ministry confirmed the country detected 3 human
cases of bird flu infections, including 2 fatalities, in July, raising the total
to 63 since late December 2004.
The ministry also announced that since the first bird flu patient was
detected in Vietnam in late 2003, the country had detected 90 human cases of
infections, including 40 fatalities, in 31 cities and provinces. It has yet to
confirm the latest case in Ben Tre.
Vietnam is spending around 446.6 billion Vietnamese dong ( nearly 28.3
million US dollars) on vaccinating 160 million poultry against bird flu viruses
in the 2005-2006 period. In the next two months, the country will start to
vaccinate fowls in 48 cities and provinces with high risks of bird flu
outbreaks, including those in the northern Red River Delta and the southern
Mekong Delta.
Now, Vietnam is vaccinating poultry in northern Nam Dinh province and
southern Tien Giang province on a trial basis. The pilot program is expected to
conclude by the end of this month.
According to local veterinary agencies, up to 70 percent of waterfowls in the
Mekong delta have been tested positive to H5N1. The country culled 4,620 poultry
after they detected small outbreaks of bird flu in Hanoi capital city and the
three southern localities of Can Tho, Ben Tre and Dong Thap last
month.
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