A resident from the Mekong delta province of Ben Tre was confirmed dead from the swine flu virus at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City on March 21.
Dr. Nguyen Van Thang, Director of Ben Tre Department of Health, confirmed that 51-year-old Lam Van Loc had died in the hospital. However, medical workers have not yet verified the cause of death as the man suffered from chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular.
Lam Van Loc, head of the Department of Legislature in his province, experienced tiredness, fever and breathing problems and was rushed to the Ben Tre General Hospital on March 20. After his condition did not improve, he was transferred to Cho Ray Hospital where he died a day later.
The Department of Animal health, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, stated on March 22 that outbreaks of avian flu were re-occurring in the northern provinces of Lang Son, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh and Hai Phong as well as the central provinces of Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai, Quang Tri and Nghe An while cattle in 30 provinces across the country were suffering from the foot-and-mouth disease.
