Bird Flu Kills Girl in Southern Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam – A 10-year-old girl from southern Vietnam became the 12th person to die of bird flu in a month, health officials said Monday, as authorities took precautions to keep the disease from spreading during the upcoming Lunar New Year festivities.

The girl from Long An province died Sunday night after surviving about a week in critical condition on a respirator, said a doctor from Pediatrics Hospital Number One in Ho Chi Minh City.

A dozen people have died of bird flu in Vietnam since Dec. 30, raising concerns that the disease could be re-emerging after an outbreak last year spread to 10 Asian countries, forcing the slaughter of more than 100 million birds.

The World Health Organization’s biggest concern is that the virus may mutate into a form easily spread from person-to-person, potentially sparking a pandemic. Most cases so far have been traced to sick poultry and there is no evidence that the disease has altered.

“It’s of course serious that we have that many deaths,” said Hans Troedsson, WHO representative in Vietnam. “The other concern we have is that there would be a dramatic increase in the number of cases, even if the virus hasn’t changed.”

The disease, which jumped to humans in Vietnam and Thailand, has killed 44 people in the past 12 months but has subsided elsewhere in the region.

In the latest case, the young girl developed a high fever and coughing three weeks ago after helping her family bury dead chickens found in her village, said Ngo Van Hoang, director of Long An provincial Preventive Medicine Center.

Tests also were being carried out to see if a Cambodian woman who died Saturday at a hospital in southern Vietnam had the virus, a doctor said on condition of anonymity. Her family also said she was admitted with bird flu symptoms after dead poultry was found in her village.

In addition, experts were still trying to determine whether human-to-human transmission occurred between a 13-year-old girl and her mother who both died of bird flu over the past two weeks. Health officials said the two had slaughtered a duck prior to showing symptoms.

However, WHO has said isolated cases of people infecting each other have occurred in the past and new similar cases should not increase alarm.

Bird flu outbreaks have been reported across the country, killing or forcing the cull of nearly 1 million birds in 31 out of 64 provinces in Vietnam since the start of this year.

In an effort to halt its spread, Hanoi on Monday was to begin operating a centralized slaughterhouse at the city’s largest poultry market, said an official at Long Bien market.

While demand for chicken and other fowl usually surges ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts Feb. 9, sales have dropped by nearly 50 percent in the last two weeks, he said, identifying himself only as Minh.

“Normally, poultry traders have very good business at this time of the year,” he said. “But this year, many people just stay away from poultry fearing for their health.”

Health experts have warned that the bird flu virus could spread further during the holiday due to colder temperatures and the increased of movement of poultry.