Vietnam reports new bird flu case

A 15-year-old boy has tested positive for bird flu, breaking a nearly week-long lull in Vietnam of new reports of the disease that has taken at least 20 lives in Asia and caused the death of millions of poultry.

A 15-year-old boy has tested positive for bird flu, breaking a nearly week-long lull in Vietnam of new reports of the disease that has taken at least 20 lives in Asia and caused the death of millions of poultry.”We have received confirmation from the lab that the boy tested positive for H5N1,” Le Thi Thu Ha, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, said.The boy is being treated at a hospital in northern Thanh Hoa province, a statement from the Ministry of Health said.He fell ill on February 9 and was admitted to the provincial hospital on February 10, it added.Bird flu has killed 14 people in Vietnam and over the weekend a Thai teenage boy was the latest victim in that country, where five others have also died.Thai and Vietnam ministers are expected to share experiences on combating the disease when they meet for the first joint cabinet meeting in the Vietnamese resort city of Danang on Friday.(Source: ABC Health News, Reuters Health, Feb 2004)