Via Reuters: Sickened Vietnamese man suspected to have bird flu. Excerpt:
A 32-year-old Vietnamese man has been hospitalised in the country's southern Mekong Delta with pneumonia and doctors suspect he may have caught bird flu, a state-run newspaper said on Saturday.
Samples from the man in Vinh Long province suffering from fever, cough and pain chest were now being tested for the H5N1 virus at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, the Thanh Nien (Young People) daily said.
It did not say on how he fell sick. The Health Ministry has warned bird flu could spread during and after this week's Lunar New Year festival when chicken is consumed in vast quantities.
In addition, winter creates an ideal environment for the avian influenza virus to thrive.
Vietnam has this year confirmed one case of human infection in the northern province of Thanh Hoa, involving a 8-year-old girl who fell sick after having eaten duck and chicken raised on the family farm. She has recovered.Thanh Nien Daily's English website doesn't have this story yet. The 8-year-old fell ill late in December, so technically she's a 2008 case.
