Vietnam confirms second bird flu case in two weeks

Hanoi - Vietnam has confirmed its second human case of the H5N1 avian flu virus in two weeks, after reporting no human cases in the previous 18 months, local press reported Saturday.

In addition, a Vietnamese health official said at least two other patients are suspected of having the disease, the reports said.

Vietnamese media Saturday quoted Dr. Tran Duc Hien, director of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, as saying that an employee at a slaughterhouse in the city had tested positive for the avian flu virus.

The man, whom authorities are referring to only by his first initial, T., had reported to a health station on May 19, complaining of breathing difficulties, a runny nose and a persistent chill.

Hien said T. remains in treatment at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases. Vietnam's other confirmed case, a 30-year-old man from Vinh Phuc province who tested positive for H5N1 on May 20 after killing the chickens for a friend's wedding, is being treated at Hanoi's Bach Mai Hospital.

That patient has recovered and will be released soon, according to doctors.

'He's now much better,' Dr. Tran Thuy Hanh, acting director of Bach Mai, said Saturday. 'Tests have shown that he's negative to H5N1.'

Hanh also said that besides the two confirmed cases, at least one other patient currently in treatment, and one who died Friday, are suspected of having the disease.

Hanh said the patient who died was admitted Thursday night for complications related to gout. After he died the next morning, she said, 'the hospital X-rayed him as a precaution, and found that his lungs were completely white.' Results of his H5N1 test were not yet available.

The second suspected case was also admitted on Thursday. He is a 29-year-old policeman who had taken part in the culling of sick chickens.

The latest confirmed case brings the total number of confirmed human cases in Vietnam to 94 since the disease emerged here in late 2003. International health authorities generally regard Vietnam as a success story because of its aggressive efforts to control the disease in animals and to test and treat human cases.
Source :http://news.monstersandcritics.com