Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Vietnam reports possible cases of human bird flu
Vietnam - According to local news reports, Vietnamese authorities are reporting two more possible human bird flu infections. Both patients, from the northern province of Thai Nguyen, have been hospitalised at the National Hospital for Tropical and Transmitted Diseases.
Samples taken from the patients were sent to the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology for further testing. Results should be known later this week. Both patients exhibited clinical symptoms similar to other A/H5N1 infected patients.
On June 4, 2007, the Deputy Minister of Health, TrinhQuan Huan, said that the Health Ministry has asked the Pasteur Institute and the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to set-up hot lines to receive information about type A/H5N1 flu from the community.
Information received on these lines will then be passed along to the Health Ministry for further study. Mr. Haun also stated that any information they receive will be passed along to the WHO(World Health Organization), to check for any changes in the virus from its standard form.
In related news, Vietnam’s first two victims of human bird flu in 17 months are no longer in a critical condition, said doctors on June 4.
The first patient from Me Linh district in the northern mountainous province of Vinh Phuc was admitted to the Bach Mai Hospital’s Active Treatment Ward on May 15. Doctors say his condition has stabilized and he will be discharged from the hospital soon.
The second patient, who tested positive for the H5N1 virus on June 1, was a man from Tien Pho commune, Pho Yen district in northern mountainous Thai Nguyen province. He was a worker at a poultry slaughterhouse in Dong Anh district on the outskirts of Hanoi.
Associate Professor Nguyen Duc Hien, Head of the National Institute Tropical and Transmitted Diseases said that the patient has gained consciousness although he still needs a respirator to breath.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported that the bird flu has struck 15 provinces and cities nationwide since the disease reemerged last month.
So far, 41 out of the country’s 64 provinces and cities have completed the first round of vaccinations against avian influenza for poultry in 2007, and 21 localities are deploying the booster vaccinations.
Vietnam is finalising legal and technical procedures to start production of an H5N1 (type A) vaccine for humans.
Bird flu story sources: Xinhua - Vietnam News Agency