Contributed by Ron Gara| 21 January, 2005 13:30 GMT
"We've got to be very careful that we don't lose sight of, or control of, the bird flu health threat, which could have much greater public health implications than the tsunami," said William L. Aldis, WHO's top representative in Thailand.
The seventh death from bird flu, or avian influenza A/H5, has been confirmed in Vietnam, according to press reports. The
World Health Organization, which has been warning of the likelihood of a global pandemic, is raising the alarm level and calling for more resources to combat the deadly disease."We've got to be very careful that we don't lose sight of, or control of, the bird flu health threat, which could have much greater public health implications than the tsunami," said William L. Aldis, WHO's top representative in Thailand, according to numerous press reports.
Vietnam's Top Priority
In the latest case, bird flu claimed the life of a 47-year-old man in Vietnam's Thai Binh province who died earlier this month after developing high fever and coughing. Initial laboratory test results came back negative for bird flu, but the diagnosis eventually was confirmed.
The man's younger brother also became infected but is said to be recovering in the hospital. The two reportedly became ill after the family ate a duck they had slaughtered.
"The prevention of avian influenza and its transmission to humans must be considered the Government's and local authorities' top priority," Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told an inter-agency and inter-provincial meeting on the issue in Ha Noi on Friday, reports the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).
The Deputy PM asked localities and the mass media to boost information dissemination to raise public awareness about avian influenza, and called for tighter controls on poultry slaughtering, handling and transport. Poultry imports from neighbor countries have been suspended.
No Evidence of Human-to-Human Transmission
Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Cao Duc Phat reported that from January 1-20, bird flu had broken out in 80 districts of 22 cities and provinces in Vietnam. A total of 125,000 chickens, 130,000 ducks and geese, and 163,000 quails had been culled, according to VNA.
The Ministry of Public Health said that between December 16, 2004, and January 20, 2005, eight people had tested positive for H5N1 virus, VNA reports.
Of them, seven now have died, and one appears to be on the mend at the Tropical Diseases Hospital in Ha Noi.
In Viet Nam, all H5N1-infected people have so far been found to have had direct or indirect contact with bird flu-infected poultry and there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, reports VNA. |
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