Friday, April 24, 2009

Vietnamese health official: Woman dies of bird flu

Apr 24, 9:48 AM EDT

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- A woman in northern Vietnam has died from bird flu - the fourth human case in the country this year - a health official said Friday.

The 23-year-old woman died Wednesday, two days after being admitted to a hospital in Thanh Hoa province, some 150 kilometers (94 miles) south of Hanoi, said Nguyen Huy Nga, director of the Ministry of Health's Preventive Medicine Department.

Test results confirmed she was infected with the dangerous H5N1 virus strain. Including the latest death, 56 people have died from the virus in Vietnam since bird flu began raging across Asia in late 2003.

In March, a 3-year-old boy from southern Vietnam was killed by the virus.

Authorities disinfected the area where the woman lived, but it was still unclear how she was contracted with the deadly virus, Nga said.

The H5N1 strain already had killed at least 256 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Scientists are monitoring the virus because of its potential to mutate into a new form that might infect millions.

No comments: