Asia must do more to prepare for quick action in case a pandemic flu strain erupts because every moment will count at the onset and rapid response will be crucial, the World Health Organisation said today.

Vietnam health officials said today that five members of a family that ran a chicken farm in northern Vietnam have tested positive for bird flu.

A five-year-old boy from central Vietnam has become the latest person to contract the bird flu virus that has killed 46 people in the region, health officials said today.