Home>News Center>World
         
 

Two more die from bird flu in Vietnam
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-22 13:56

Vietnam reported the deaths of two more people from bird flu Saturday, pushing the toll to nine dead in three weeks, officials said.

A 35-year-old woman from the southern Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap died after being hospitalized, said Nguyen Ngoc An, director of Dong Thap's Preventive Medicine Center.

Roasted ducks and chicken are displayed for sale at a market in Hanoi, January 21, 2005. An 18-year-old girl has died of bird flu in southern Vietnam and the first confirmed human infection in the country's north has raised concerns about possible human-to-human transmission of the virus.
Roasted ducks and chicken are displayed for sale at a market in Hanoi, January 21, 2005. An 18-year-old girl has died of bird flu in southern Vietnam and the first confirmed human infection in the country's north has raised concerns about possible human-to-human transmission of the virus. [Reuters]
She tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, An said.

The woman developed a high fever a week after slaughtering a duck she received from her neighbor. She did not eat the poultry, however, and none of her relatives who ate it showed signs of the disease, An said.

An said authorities suspected the woman might also have been infected by stork droppings in a pond where she often worked.

The World Health Organization and other health experts fear that avian influenza could evolve into the next global pandemic if the virus mutates and human-to-human transmission occurs. There is, however, no evidence of that yet.

Last year, the virus spread to 10 Asian countries, killing or forcing the slaughter of about 100 million birds. Since that outbreak, 29 people have died in Vietnam and 12 in Thailand.

The WHO also has cautioned against transporting poultry from places affected by bird flu to areas devastated by last month's tsunami. The agency stressed that infected poultry must be "kept out of the food chain, including emergency food relief activities."



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Captors of Chinese hostages air new demand for release

 

   
 

Britain backs EU in lifting arms ban

 

   
 

Auditors reveal truth about State assets firms

 

   
 

Power shortage causes blackouts nationwide

 

   
 

Koizumi: China, US equally important to Japan

 

   
 

Lower prices push pirate books off shelves

 

   
  Iraq to arrest Ahmad Chalabi after Eid
   
  Twin attacks in Iraq kill at least 21
   
  Mexico prison officials possibly targeted
   
  Diplomat: IAEA tours Egyptian laboratory
   
  EU foreign policy boss Solana praises Ukraine
   
  Denmark charges 5 soldiers with Iraqi prisoner abuse
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement