Vietnam: Dong Thap woman is second H5N1 avian influenza fatality for 2014

A 60-year-old woman from Binh Thanh District, Dong Thap province, Vietnam has died from a confirmed case of influenza A/H5N1 infection, according to a Tuoi Tre report today (computer translated).

H5N1 avian influenza
Image/CDC

The report states that Dong Thap Province health officials she was admitted to the hospital suffering from a high fever on January 22.

She was transferred to An Giang Province General Hospital on January 27 but died on January 28.

H5N1 avian influenza was confirmed by the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City.

The patient recalled having contact with poultry before falling ill.

Provincial medical and veterinary authorities immediately implemented quarantine measures to contain any contamination.

This is the second fatality due to the lethal bird virus in Vietnam this year. A 52-year-old man from southern Binh Phuc province died from the infection on Jan. 18.

The World Health Organization says avian influenza (“bird flu”) is an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza virus. The infection can cause a wide spectrum of symptoms in birds, ranging from mild illness, which may pass unnoticed, to a rapidly fatal disease that can cause severe epidemics.

Avian influenza viruses do not normally infect humans. However, there have been instances of certain highly pathogenic strains causing severe respiratory disease in humans. In most cases, the people infected had been in close contact with infected poultry or with objects contaminated by their feces.

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