Tien Giang records first H5N1 death of 2010

A 38-year-old woman from Cai Be District in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang became the nation’s first avian flu (H5N1 virus) casualty this year, said Nguyen Huy Nga, head of the Preventive Medicine and Environment Department on February 26.

A 38-year-old woman from Cai Be District in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang became the nation’s first avian flu (H5N1 virus) casualty this year, said Nguyen Huy Nga, head of the Preventive Medicine and Environment Department on February 26.

A patient is treated at a Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. (Filed photo)

A patient is treated at a Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. (Filed photo)

The patient fell sick on February 13, but bought medicines to treat herself at home. Later, she went to the local clinic, but her health did not improve.

On February 21 she was hospitalized at the Sa Dec hospital in Dong Thap Province with fatigue, chest pain and acute breathing difficulty. She was diagnosed with inflammation of the lungs caused by the H5N1 virus. She died on February 23, and the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City confirmed on the same day that she was carrying the deadly virus.

Preliminary investigations have found that the victim had slaughtered sick water-fowl before falling ill.
The Preventive Healthcare and Environment Department has advised people to inform local authorities immediately when their fowls fall ill and not to slaughter them without instructions from the concerned agencies.


Residents have been instructed not to slaughter, transport or sell poultry from infected areas. They have also been advised to approach hospitals for medical examinations whenever they have breathing difficulties or notice any other symptom of influenza.

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