Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

(CIDRAP News) – A second Vietnamese nurse who had cared for an avian influenza patient was reported to have a suspected case of the illness 2 days ago, but a Vietnamese newspaper said today that the nurse is free of the virus.

The nurse, a 41-year-old woman from Thai Binh province, was hospitalized in Hanoi Mar 10 with a high fever, cough, and a lung infection, according to a Mar 12 Associated Press (AP) report.

(CIDRAP News) – The recent series of cases of avian influenza in a single province in Vietnam has increased concern about whether the nature of the illness is changing.

(CIDRAP News) – The strain of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) that erupted from obscurity to kill 774 people worldwide has gone quiet, at least for now. Yet its lessons will keep benefiting people even if it never reappears.

(CIDRAP News) – Two relatives of avian influenza patients in northern Vietnam have tested positive for the virus without being sick, according to reports from Vietnam today.

The 61-year-old widow of a man who died of avian flu in late February and the 80-year-old grandfather of two patients currently under treatment in a hospital have tested positive, the Associated Press (AP) and other news services reported. Both are apparently healthy.

(CIDRAP News) – A 26-year-old Vietnamese nurse who helped care for a younger man with H5N1 avian influenza has contracted the illness, but it is unclear whether he acquired it from the patient or from poultry, according to news reports from Vietnam today.

(CIDRAP News) – Vietnam, the country at the center of this year's avian influenza activity, may have two problems with its data on human cases: transparency in reporting and accuracy in testing.

(CIDRAP News) – More than 12,000 chickens and quail have died in the past 2 months in an outbreak of avian influenza on the Indonesian island of Java, according to an Associated Press (AP) report published today.

The viruses involved are H5N1 and H7N1, said an Indonesian official who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Avian flu killed about 1.6 million chickens in the same region in West Java province last year, the official said.

(CIDRAP News) – An additional human case of H5N1 avian influenza has come to light in Vietnam even as reports indicate fewer outbreaks are occurring among poultry.

(CIDRAP News) – Three more cases of H5N1 avian influenza in Vietnam, one of them fatal, were confirmed over the weekend and today, sparking concern over a more widespread outbreak, according to numerous news service reports.

(CIDRAP News) – The fight against avian flu is becoming more urgent and the price tag is climbing, experts said in the wake of the second international conference on the H5N1 flu.