Vietnam detects new suspected human bird flu case
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-11-14 11:11

A student from Vietnam's capital of Hanoi has just been hospitalized after showing bird flu symptoms, and his specimens are being tested for bird flu virus strain H5N1, local media reported Monday.

The 28-year-old student from Dong Da district, who had eaten chicken eggs, was admitted to the city-based Tropical Disease Institute on November 11 with symptoms of higher fever and breathing difficulty, newspaper Pioneer reported.

The results of the bird flu virus testing are expected to come out on Monday.

Since early this year, the institute has received over 130 cases of acute pneumonia with symptoms of fever, breathing difficulty and chest pain, of whom about 20 percent have been confirmed to contract H5N1.

Vietnam has detected 65 human cases of bird flu infections, including 22 fatalities, in 25 cities and provinces since December 2004, the Vietnamese Health Ministry announced on November 11, noting that the accumulated numbers of bird flu infections and fatalities since December 2003 are 92 and 42, respectively.

Since October 1, bird flu has been spotted in 10 localities in northern, central and southern localities, namely, Bac Lieu, Dong Thap, Quang Nam, Bac Giang, Thanh Hoa, Hanoi, Hai Duong, Ninh Binh, Hung Yen and Hai Phong, killing and leading to the forced culling of nearly 33,000 fowls.

Previous outbreaks starting in December 2003 have killed and led to the forced culling of some 46.6 million fowls in Vietnam, causing losses of 3.5 trillion Vietnamese dong (221.5 million US dollars).