Bird flu kills Vietnamese children
Bird flu has killed three people, including two children, in Vietnam, officials said today, as people nationwide were told to be vigilant against the disease.
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung sent a telegram to all relevant agencies and provinces after the bird flu deaths were confirmed.
Trinh Quan Huan, head of the Ministry of Health’s department for Preventative Medicine and HIV/Aids Control, said all three victims tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the virus and died between July 30 and August 3.
Two children, aged four and one, died in Ha Tay province in the north, while the other victim succumbed to the disease in southern Hau Giang province, about 110 miles south of Ho Chi Minh City, he said.
Over the past several months, Vietnam has reported a recurrence of bird flu, resulting in the deaths or culling of more than 50,000 birds.
The devastating avian flu swept across Asia earlier this year, forcing the slaughter of about 100 million poultry. The virus also jumped to humans, killing 16 in Vietnam and eight in Thailand.
