February 12, 2004

Vietnam Confirms New Bird Flu Case

Vietnam confirmed a new human case of bird flu on Wednesday, but a senior Vietnamese official said the country's outbreak among poultry showed signs of slowing down.

A 22-year-old man hospitalized in Ho Chi Minh City with severe pneumonia tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, bringing the country's confirmed human cases to 20, a city health official said. Vietnam's death toll from bird flu is 14, while Thailand has reported five deaths.

Although new human cases have been reported this week, Vietnamese officials say no new provinces have reported outbreaks of bird flu among poultry.

Since Monday, the number of provinces reporting bird flu outbreaks - 57 of Vietnam's 64 provinces - has not changed, said Bui Quang Anh, director of Veterinary Department in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In addition, only one of the affected provinces - southern Dong Nai province - reported seeing cases among poultry in two new districts on Tuesday, he said.

"Thanks to the active measures of the government and assistance from the international community, we can affirm that the outbreak has begun to stop," Anh said. "We see a positive sign that the speed of the outbreak is not (as fast as) in previous days."