Bird flu kills 3-year-old boy in southern Vietnam
HANOI, March 19 (Reuters) - A three-year-old boy infected with the H5N1 bird flu strain has died in southern Vietnam, a state-run online newspaper reported on Thursday, the country's third human fatality from the poultry virus this year.
The boy was admitted to a Ho Chi Minh City hospital early this week suffering from coughing, headaches and vomiting and doctors there confirmed he had contracted the H5N1 virus, Vietnam Net (www.vietnamnet.vn) said.
The boy, who had fallen sick after his family in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap ate duck congee, died on Thursday afternoon, the report quoted a relative and doctors at the hospital as saying.
The World Health Organization, which often waits for official announcements from Vietnam's Health Ministry before confirming bird flu cases, has yet to report the boy's death.
Prior to the boy's death, Vietnam had reported 109 cases of human infections, of whom 54 had died, the WHO's tally showed.
The Animal Health Department in Vietnam says there are bird flu outbreaks among poultry stocks in five provinces, but Dong Thap province is not on the government's watch list.
Avian influenza has affected millions of birds around the world, particularly in East Asia, and can be caught by humans who come into contact with infected birds.
Scientists fear the virus could mutate into one that spreads easily among people, unleashing a pandemic that could kill millions.
According to the latest WHO information, the H5N1 avian influenza virus has infected 411 people in 15 countries and killed 256 of them since 2003. (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by John Ruwitch and Paul Tait)
The boy was admitted to a Ho Chi Minh City hospital early this week suffering from coughing, headaches and vomiting and doctors there confirmed he had contracted the H5N1 virus, Vietnam Net (www.vietnamnet.vn) said.
The boy, who had fallen sick after his family in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap ate duck congee, died on Thursday afternoon, the report quoted a relative and doctors at the hospital as saying.
The World Health Organization, which often waits for official announcements from Vietnam's Health Ministry before confirming bird flu cases, has yet to report the boy's death.
Prior to the boy's death, Vietnam had reported 109 cases of human infections, of whom 54 had died, the WHO's tally showed.
The Animal Health Department in Vietnam says there are bird flu outbreaks among poultry stocks in five provinces, but Dong Thap province is not on the government's watch list.
Avian influenza has affected millions of birds around the world, particularly in East Asia, and can be caught by humans who come into contact with infected birds.
Scientists fear the virus could mutate into one that spreads easily among people, unleashing a pandemic that could kill millions.
According to the latest WHO information, the H5N1 avian influenza virus has infected 411 people in 15 countries and killed 256 of them since 2003. (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by John Ruwitch and Paul Tait)
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