Bird flu kills one more person in Vietnam
HANOI - A 35-year-old man from southern Vietnam died of avian flu, health officials said Tuesday, as the country began a mass vaccination of poultry to try to slow the spread of the virus. The man from the southern Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre died on July 31. He tested positive for the H5N1 flu virus on Saturday, said Phan Van Tu, chief virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City. A total of 61 people have died of bird flu in the region, including 42 in Vietnam.
The man's death comes days after the United States said a bird flu vaccine had shown positive results in humans. The vaccine is difficult to produce and only effective in large doses, but the
World Health Organization praised it as a good first step.
Nguyen Huu Sinh, director of Ben Tre provincial Preventive Medicine Center, said the man fell ill July 25, a week after he butchered and ate two dead chickens given to him by his mother and a neighbor.
Last week, Vietnam began vaccinating millions of chickens and ducks in two provinces to try to slow the spread of the virus. If the vaccination is effective, Vietnam plans to extend the program to other provinces.
Health officials have warned repeatedly that avian influenza could mutate and spread easily from person to person, sparking a global pandemic that could kill millions. So far, most human cases have been linked to contact with sick birds.
By Tran Van Minh - The Associated Press - August 08, 2005.
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