Health authorities in bird flu-hit Bac Ninh Province sterilize an epidemic zone. Vietnam has recorded three bird flu cases over the last two months.

A 32-year-old northern man has tested positive for bird flu, Vietnam’s third case in two months, the Ministry of Health said Monday.

The man’s case was confirmed last weekend at the Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases in Hanoi, where he is on oxygen support.

Ly Tai Mui, a 23-year-old woman from northern Quang Ninh Province remains in critical condition after health officials confirmed she had contracted the H5N1 virus (the strain that causes avian flu) last week.

An eight-year-old girl from the northern province of Thanh Hoa has recovered after several days of hospital treatment.

The avian flu is plaguing poultry in seven provinces: Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, and Nghe An in the north; Quang Tri in the central region; and Soc Trang, Ca Mau, and Hau Giang in the Mekong Delta.

The virus remains largely confined to birds, but experts fear it could mutate into a form that is easily transmitted by humans and spark a pandemic that could kill millions worldwide.

Since 2003, Vietnam has recorded 52 human deaths from bird flu, the world’s second highest toll after Indonesia, where the virus has killed 115 people.

Last year, sporadic outbreaks of H5N1 were reported in 27 provinces in Vietnam.

In 2008, five human cases were reported in Vietnam, all fatal. In 2007, eight human cases were reported, five of which were fatal.

Hepatitis vulnerable

Vietnam is among the countries most vulnerable to the chronic Hepatitis B virus, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said at a conference Monday.

More than 8 percent of Vietnamese people contract chronic Hepatitis B, which causes cirrhosis and liver cancer, the institute said.

The National Extended Vaccination Program (NEVP) also said at the conference that the number of newborns inoculated for the Hepatitis B virus has tumbled since 2006.

In 2006, 64.3 percent of Vietnamese babies were vaccinated against the virus. The percentage dropped to 28.6 percent in 2007 and to 23.9 percent last year, NEVP said.

NEVP attributed the decrease to parental fears that their kids would suffer from post-vaccination complications.

Health experts have warned that babies who are not inoculated within 24 hours after delivery would be very vulnerable to the Hepatitis B virus.

Source: TN, Agencies