New bird flu death in Vietnam

Officials today said bird flu has killed another person in Vietnam, bringing the regional death toll to 62.

A 58-year-old man from Hanoi was admitted to a hospital in the capital on August 24 and died the same day, said a doctor who identified herself only as Lien.

Pham Ngoc Dinh, deputy director of the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology, said the man tested positive for the H5 component of the bird flu virus, but the N1 element has not been determined. More tests are being conducted.

The man from Soc Son District ate duck a week before dying. It was purchased from a market, and no other family members became ill after eating the poultry, said Nguyen Van Loan, director of the district Preventive Medicine Centre.

Loan said the man’s house has been disinfected and blood samples of those who were in contact with him have been sent for testing.

There were no reported bird flu outbreaks among poultry in the district, he said.