Hanoi (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Avian flu has killed another Vietnamese bringing the total number of dead in the country due to the H5N1 virus to 43.
The 35-year-old man lived in the Mekong Delta province and passed away on July 31. He had been hospitalised just the day before with a high fever.
The Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City confirmed that he had slaughtered and eaten two chickens infected with the H5N1 virus.
In December 2004, an additional 22 people had died in Vietnam
Since 2003, when the avian flu first broke out, the number of known dead has reached 62: 12 in Thailand, 4 in Cambodia and 3 in Indonesia.
The virus has been detected in Siberia but has not yet caused any fatality.
Despite the culling of tens of millions of poultry, health experts warn that the H5N1 virus has become endemic in several regions of Asia, including Indochina.
It is feared that, should it survive a long time, it might mutate into a variant that could allow person-to-person transmission. The lives of millions of people would then be put in jeopardy.
