Posted on 02/02/2004 5:16:21 PM PST by blam
Bird flu virus claims more lives
The current outbreak has affected 10 Asian states
Two more people have died of bird flu in Asia, as experts warned the virus was far from being under control. An 18-year-old man in Vietnam and a 58-year-old Thai woman took the total death toll to 12.
People who have contracted H5N1 bird flu are thought to have caught it through contact with sick birds.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it cannot rule out one case of human to human transmission in Vietnam, but there was no firm evidence of it.
The case involves two sisters who died after having contact with their brother. The man died after appearing to contract bird flu, although he was cremated before tests were done.
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The WHO said it had not been able to conclusively identify the source of infection for the two sisters, and that their brother was therefore one possible explanation.
However, the WHO has described the case as an anomaly and said there was no evidence of the virus spreading throughout the general population.
Health experts are worried that if the virus mixes with a regular human influenza strain, it might create a mutant form that was able to pass between humans, triggering a human flu pandemic.
In other developments:
WHO warns that the virus is far from being under control, urging strong collaborative efforts;
In Hong Kong, poultry workers have begun receiving free influenza vaccinations as part of the government's efforts to prevent the virus from spreading to the territory;
International health and agriculture agencies are due to hold crisis talks in Rome on Tuesday;
China on Sunday reported five more areas with suspected cases of bird flu in poultry
New deaths
The teenager from Vietnam's Central Highlands province of Lam Dong died early on Monday, deputy director of Ho Chi Mink City' Tropical Disease Hospital Tran Tin Hein said.
"He was admitted to our hospital on Thursday and on Saturday he tested positive for H5N1 (strain of the bird flu)," Mr Hein told the AFP news agency.
"According to our information he had direct contact with chickens in his village in the Did Linn district," he added.
Officials said the victim was from the Coho ethnic minority group. The WHO has not yet confirmed the death.
Two other people in Vietnam have also caught the virus, officials say.
But a four-year-old boy had made a full recovery, while an eight-year-old girl was in a stable condition, Mr Hein said.
In Thailand, the woman from the central province of Siphon Bury was confirmed to have died from the disease on Monday, Thailand's Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyraphan said.
Two six-year-old boys died from the virus last week, and a third child - a seven-year-old boy - was being treated at a local hospital, Ms Sudarat said.
The current bird flu epidemic has affected 10 Asian states, where tens of millions of poultry have already been slaughtered.
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