Vietnam has confirmed its first human death from bird flu in nine months. A public health official in southern Binh Phuoc Province said on Tuesday that a 52-year-old man died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu on Jan. 18. The man had developed a fever and other symptoms a week earlier after he slaughtered a duck bought in the village where chickens died of unknown reasons several days later. Vietnam’s last human bird flu death was reported in April last year. Bird flu remains hard for people to catch, with most people sickened after being in close contact with infected poultry, but experts have long feared it could spark a pandemic if it mutates into a form that spreads easily among people.—AP
Your Thoughts …
