A/H5N1 Flu Patient in Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa Province Dies
Patient B.T.D., a 21-year-old male student at Nha Trang University in Vietnam’s south-central province of Khanh Hoa, contracted A/H5N1 flu and passed away after several days on a ventilator, Dr. Ton That Toan, head of the Provincial Center for Disease Control in Khanh Hoa, announced on March 24.
This is the second case of influenza A recorded in Vietnam since 2014, after several years without any reported cases of the disease in humans, according to the Ministry of Health.
Accordingly, on March 11, patient D. experienced symptoms of fever and cough, and self-medicated without improvement. He visited his family in Ninh Hoa town and later sought medical attention at local health facilities. By March 20, test results from the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang confirmed that patient D. had severe pneumonia caused by A/H5N1 flu. Subsequently, he was transferred to Khanh Hoa Tropical Disease Hospital for treatment.
Local health authorities are actively searching for the source of A/H5N1 infection in patient D. Hunting wild birds during the New Year Festival is a potential epidemiological factor for disease transmission.