Avian flu kills three in Vietnam

BIRD flu has killed three people, including two children, in Vietnam, officials said yesterday, 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.