The <<>> (WHO) said yesterday four new cases of human avian influenza have been reported in Vietnam. These include a 21-year-old man and his 14-year-old sister.
WHO said the man died but the status of his sister and the two other people affected is unknown. They became ill in early or mid-February. Whether a 26-year-old nurse admitted to a hospital in Hanoi last week has avian influenza is uncertain although a WHO official said the nurse tested positive for the virus.
Influenza A (H5N1), has killed hundreds of thousands of birds and at least 44 people in Southeast Asia in recent months. Dick Thompson, for the WHO, said the agency had no knowledge of the case. Their main concern is that the avian strain's genes could combine with genes from human influenza viruses to create a deadly new virus and create a worldwide pandemic. Information on new human avian influenza cases is "urgently needed" because data about the composition of the virus could help scientists determine whether it is changing, the WHO said.
The case of the nurse in Hanoi is of particular importance because of his occupation. He had carried a 21-year-old avian influenza patient on a stretcher and provided direct care at a hospital. If the A(H5N1) strain is identified as the cause of his illness, he could become the first health worker to have contracted avian influenza.