French doctor dies in SARS outbreak

A French doctor has died of severe acute respiratory syndrome, bringing the death toll from the flu-like disease in Vietnam to five – all health care workers at the same international hospital, an official said.

The Hanoi French Hospital was closed to outside patients after many staff started becoming ill in late in February.

It happened after they had been treating a patient with Sars who had travelled to Vietnam from Hong Kong. The sick employees were treated at the hospital by the remaining healthy staff, but two doctors and two nurses died.

The 69-year-old French doctor’s condition had recently improved, but began worsening on Friday, hospital general director Yves Nicolay said.

He said the doctor was the last patient being treated at the hospital, which will now be closed for complete disinfecting.

Vietnam has recorded more than 60 Sars cases, mostly linked to initial outbreak at the French Hospital, officials say.

The disease has severely affected the country’s tourism industry.

Sars has now killed at least 122 people and sickened more than 2,700 in 20 countries. The illness as yet has no cure and symptoms include shortness of breath, fever, coughing and body aches.