Vietnam Reports Second Death of Bird Flu in 2012

Vietnam has recorded one more person died of influenza A/H5N1, the second case in the country in 2012, the Health Ministry’s Preventive Medicine Department said. This is also the 2nd case having succumbed to H5N1 virus in the Mekong Delta region this year after the first in Kien Giang province, said Nguyen Van Binh, head of the department. The second victim, 26-year-old woman from Soc Trang province’s Thanh Tri district was taken to a local hospital on Jan 23 after showing fever and cough symptoms. On Jan 25, the patient was then transferred to a general hospital in the neighboring province of Bac Lieu with viral pneumonia diagnosis as the illness still persisted. She died in the hospital on Jan 28. The patient, who was tested to be infected with Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, had slaughtered and eaten infected poultry. The ministry has urged health authorities in Soc Trang to boost anti-epidemic measures to supervise and prevent the disease’s further spread. Since late 2003, Vietnam has reported roughly 119 human infections, including 60 deaths of the disease. On Jan 22, health authorities in the neighboring country of China also confirmed the second death of A/H5N1 avian influenza in 2012 after Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia reported deaths from avian influenza. (Tuoi Tre –Youth Feb 2 p2, An Ninh Thu Do –Capital Security Feb 2 p4)