Avian flu strikes back in Vietnam

Avian flu is believed to have stricken back after more than a year in southern Vietnam on Saturday. Four members of a family were admitted in the hospital with the symptoms of bird flu said a doctor.

On December 23, the family comprising of 36-year old woman and her three children of age range from three to thirteen, ate one ill chicken of the four and fell ill. They were admitted with the symptoms of bird flu in Nam Can Hospital of Ca Mau province this past week.

According to the doctor Ho Van Van at the hospital, they had fever, coughing, decreased white blood cells and damaged lungs. He also added that the hospital is testing the swab samples from the patients for the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu.

The family’s house and the neighborhood have been disinfected by the health officials.

The strike back of avian flu in Vietnam has raised an alarm, and the Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said that he would send eleven of his cabinet ministers to combat the flu, after the news of outbreaks in poultry in a year in Ca Mau and two other provinces in the Mekong Delta.

According to another source, Hau Giang Province saw two avian flu cases yesterday, as the poultry in affected areas were illegally raised and were not vaccinated against H5 virus.

More than 13000 birds had been forcefully killed or reported dead due to the outbreak in the three provinces.

To curb the outbreak and disinfect the area, the birds and hens were collected at a place and chemicals were sprayed around the radius of 500km by the local health authorities.

Locals and authorities in Luong Tam and Xa Phien are trying to find out the root cause of this outbreak.

According to World Health Organizations, H5N1 virus strain caused 42 deaths in Vietnam since late 2003 and 157 people all over the world.

Bird flu in humans is caused by being in contact with sick birds or poultry. H5N1 is the most virulent type of avian flu viruses that would cause deaths. Even the places inhabited by too many pigs and chicken may be the source of this flu virus, if proper vaccination is not given to them. Moreover, the incubation period for bird flu in human is not determined.