A four-year-old boy from Ba To District in the central province of Quang Ngai succumbed to a strange skin ulcer which has affected many people in the region.
The General Hospital in the central province of Da Nang announced on Wednesday that four-year-old patient Phan Van Thuan had died after undergoing treatment for one day.
The kid was taken to the hospital with skin ulcers that looked like severe burns on his palms and soles of his feet, besides also suffering serious liver damage.
Until now, the mountainous district of Ba To in Quang Ngai Province has reported 98 patients suffering from this strange malady which causes ghastly skin ulcers on the palms and soles. 25 children have so far been affected, with 2 reported deaths.
The disease seems to be spreading rapidly in the central province. Experts at the Vietnam Central Dermatology Hospital conducted a study early October on 61 of the victims and concluded that the disease is being caused by harmful farm pesticides.
Most of the victims range between the ages of 16 to 49. The youngest so far has been 4, and the oldest has been 72 years of age.
