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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="465"><tbody><tr><td class="t18"> Asia toll rises: Girl dead, man in hospital </td> </tr> <tr><td align="right">
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An Indonesian girl has died of bird flu and Vietnam reported yesterday its first suspected human infection since late 2005, in a string of cases across Asia when the H5N1 virus is usually less active.
In Pakistan, authorities said thousands of chickens were culled at three poultry farms on the outskirts of Islamabad, while Bangladesh struggled to control the virus in birds after outbreaks on dozens of farms.
The 5-year-old Indonesia girl, from Central Java province, died last week, a Health Ministry official said yesterday.
Authorities were still investigating the case, but at least 20 chickens had died suddenly near her home, the official said.
Contact with sick fowl is the most common way humans become infected with the H5N1 virus.
The girl's death brings the number of confirmed human fatalities in Indonesia to 77, the highest in the world.
Vietnam said yesterday a 30-year-old man was in a serious condition and the World Health Organization (WHO) said it would verify tests that showed he was infected with bird flu.
"This is the first suspected human case since November 2005 and the procedures are the government, the Health Ministry share the sample with WHO for verification at a WHO laboratory," said Hans Troedsson, the WHO's representative in Vietnam.
State media said the man, from Vinh Phuc province near the capital Hanoi, had developed a fever and had difficulty breathing two days after he helped slaughter chickens at a friend's wedding about a month ago.
News of the suspected case came just a day after Vietnam reported bird flu had killed nearly 1,900 ducks on farms across the country in the past week.
Global threat
The WHO says at least 185 people have died of bird flu since the H5N1 virus resurfaced in Southeast Asia in 2003. The virus has since spread throughout much of Asia, parts of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Ghana said on Tuesday it had detected a second bird flu outbreak in the center of the West African country, far from the first case detected three weeks ago.
Bangladesh says it has culled 144,785 chickens on 59 farms in 11 districts. No human cases have been reported.
Scientists previously found the H5N1 virus to be most active and transmissible among birds during the cooler months from October and March in the northern hemisphere.
But of late, experts have found that it has become hardier, staying alive longer in higher temperatures and in moist conditions.
http://english.people.com.cn/200705/24/eng20070524_377495.html
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</td></tr> <tr> <td>An Indonesian girl has died of bird flu and Vietnam reported yesterday its first suspected human infection since late 2005, in a string of cases across Asia when the H5N1 virus is usually less active.
In Pakistan, authorities said thousands of chickens were culled at three poultry farms on the outskirts of Islamabad, while Bangladesh struggled to control the virus in birds after outbreaks on dozens of farms.
The 5-year-old Indonesia girl, from Central Java province, died last week, a Health Ministry official said yesterday.
Authorities were still investigating the case, but at least 20 chickens had died suddenly near her home, the official said.
Contact with sick fowl is the most common way humans become infected with the H5N1 virus.
The girl's death brings the number of confirmed human fatalities in Indonesia to 77, the highest in the world.
Vietnam said yesterday a 30-year-old man was in a serious condition and the World Health Organization (WHO) said it would verify tests that showed he was infected with bird flu.
"This is the first suspected human case since November 2005 and the procedures are the government, the Health Ministry share the sample with WHO for verification at a WHO laboratory," said Hans Troedsson, the WHO's representative in Vietnam.
State media said the man, from Vinh Phuc province near the capital Hanoi, had developed a fever and had difficulty breathing two days after he helped slaughter chickens at a friend's wedding about a month ago.
News of the suspected case came just a day after Vietnam reported bird flu had killed nearly 1,900 ducks on farms across the country in the past week.
Global threat
The WHO says at least 185 people have died of bird flu since the H5N1 virus resurfaced in Southeast Asia in 2003. The virus has since spread throughout much of Asia, parts of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Ghana said on Tuesday it had detected a second bird flu outbreak in the center of the West African country, far from the first case detected three weeks ago.
Bangladesh says it has culled 144,785 chickens on 59 farms in 11 districts. No human cases have been reported.
Scientists previously found the H5N1 virus to be most active and transmissible among birds during the cooler months from October and March in the northern hemisphere.
But of late, experts have found that it has become hardier, staying alive longer in higher temperatures and in moist conditions.
http://english.people.com.cn/200705/24/eng20070524_377495.html
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