Hanoi (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A three year-old boy died yesterday at Hanoi's National Children's Hospital while a medical team from Hong Kong visited the pediatric healthcare center.

According to a doctor from the hospital, it is still unknown if the boy died of avian influenza or not. But the boy was said to have had symptoms typical of the bird flu epidemic and lived near the province of Ha Tay, which had been hit badly by the virus.  

Yesterday the death of a 27 year-old man from the province of Binh Phuoc was confirmed to be due to the H5N1 bird flu virus.

The toll of victims in Vietnam alone has reached 14. While in Thailand 5 people have died so far.

The group of doctors from Hong Kong was sent by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Vietnamese government to look into ways of treating the epidemic and infected people.    

The H5N1 virus has spread to 13 provinces in China. Chinese health authorities have forbidden the use of non-government approved vaccines, after WHO animal disease specialist, Jeff Gilbert, warned they could make the virus's spread worse and mask its presence in birds. Many farmers use contraband-produced vaccines, which are sold at a smaller price, yet are of poor quality.

 In order to produce specific H5N1 vaccines, Guangdong have set aside 5 million yuan (about 625,000 US dollars).

The Chinese village of Doman Sangli (Guangdong) has been isolated as a precautionary measure after Sunday, Feb. 8, when over 1000 chickens died at a village farm. Test results are still pending. According to the WHO's representative in China, Henk Bekedam, it is likely there are cases of human infection in the country, even if for the time being there is no proof.   

The United States is also suffering from the bird flu, even if in a lighter way than in Vietnam and Thailand.   

The bird flu has caused poultry consumption to drop worldwide. Chen Xiwen, vice-director of Hong Hong's Central Financial Work Leading Group, said that consumption of poultry should be encouraged, but with taking proper precautions. Excessive measures cause people not to eat chicken and this leads to serious losses on the part of farmers.

Yeoh Eng-kiong, director of Hong Kong's Department of Health, Welfare and Nutrition, proposed culling all chickens in one central location. Meanwhile, the availability of live chickens in Hong Kong's markets has diminished by one third (around 40,000 chickens a day), while prices have increased to as high as 48 Hong Kong dollars a kilo.  (MR)

• vietnam
• china
• hong
• kong
• bird
• flu
• h5n1
• epidemic