Fourth bird flu death in Vietnam
An 18-year-old woman has died of bird flu in Vietnam, becoming the nation's fourth fatality from the disease in the past fortnight. A doctor from Ho Chi Minh City's Pasteur Institute says the woman was from the southern Mekong Delta.
A 16-year-old girl from southern Tay Ninh province died last Friday in hospital in Ho Chi Minh City after contracting the virus. Two boys, aged six and nine, died on December 30 and January 4 respectively after being infected with H5N1. They were both from Mekong Delta provinces.
Doctors have also confirmed that an 18-year-old woman from southern Tien Giang province and a 35-year-old woman from Tra Vinh, also in the south, have been infected with H5N1. They are in critical condition in a Ho Chi Minh City hospital.
Since late 2003, at least 24 people in Vietnam have died after being confirmed to have contracted the lethal H5N1 strain of avian influenza.
Agence France Presse - January 13, 2005
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