Bird flu crisis mounts as official plays down fears

THE human cost of Asia’s bird flu crisis mounted yesterday with Vietnam’s 21st case of the disease confirmed, while Singapore’s top health official moved to ease fears of travel in Asia by saying it was safe going to countries affected by the virus.

The 15-year-old boy in Vietnam was in hospital with fever, coughing and shortness of breath in northern Thanh Hoa province, where doctors said it was unclear how he was infected.

Many of the 20 people killed by bird flu in Asia have come from poultry farming families or otherwise had contact with birds sickened by the outbreak, which was first reported in December in South Korea and now spans across 10 countries.