Vietnamese boy, 5, latest bird flu victim

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.

The boy from Quang Binh province tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the virus, said Nguyen Tran Hien, director of the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology.

The patient was admitted to Hue Central Hospital on March 12 with typical bird flu symptoms of high fever, coughing and lung infection and he remains in stable condition, said Dr Le Thi Minh Huong.

The boy’s uncle, Hoang Thai An, said the family had eaten a dead chicken given to them by their neighbour three weeks ago. The boy’s 13-year-old sister died at a hospital in Quang Binh on March 9 after suffering the same symptoms, he said.

However, no samples from the girl were taken, said Mai Xuan Su, deputy director of Quang Binh provincial Preventive Medicine Centre.

Su said health officials have appeared on television to advise people not to eat sick or dead poultry. The practice has been common among many families in the poor village, An said.

Since late December, 25 people have contracted bird flu in Vietnam, 13 of whom have died. A Cambodian woman also died of bird flu in a hospital in southern Vietnam.