-
A health worker culls poultry - Source: Reuters -
Related
A 23-year-old woman has died from H5N1 bird flu in northern Vietnam, state-run radio said, the country's fourth human fatality this year.
The woman, from Thanh Hoa province, fell sick and died earlier this month, and tests showed she had been infected by the H5N1 virus, Voice of Vietnam said, quoting the Health Ministry.
It said dead chickens were found in the area where she lived, but it did not say if they were infected with the disease. Thanh Hoa was not in the government's bird flu watch list.
The World Health Organization, which often waits for official announcements from Vietnam's Health Ministry before confirming bird flu cases, had yet to report the woman's death.
Prior to the woman's death earlier this week, Vietnam had reported 110 cases of human infections, of whom 55 had died, the WHO's tally showed.
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 421 people in 15 countries and killed 257 of them since late 2003.
