Vietnam bird flu deaths prompt health warning

HANOI, Vietnam -- Bird flu has killed three Vietnamese, the first deaths reported among humans from the disease since outbreaks in Asia early this year that killed 24 people and forced the slaughter of millions of birds.

All three victims tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the virus and died between July 30 and Aug. 3, said Trinh Quan Huan, head of the Ministry of Health's Department for Preventative Medicine and HIV/AIDS Control.

Hans Troedsson, head of the World Health Organization in Hanoi, said he was alerted about the findings Thursday and would meet with officials from the Ministry of Health on Friday to discuss what steps should be taken.

He said the WHO would ask Vietnam to allow it to send samples to a laboratory abroad for testing. He will also ask that an outside team of epidemiologists be permitted to investigate.

Given that the deaths occurred in both the country's north and south, he said it's imperative that the entire country take precautions. But Troedsson said Vietnam is also much better prepared to handle the situation now than earlier this year.

Two children, ages 4 and 1, died in Ha Tay province about 30 miles west of Hanoi, while the other victim died in southern Hau Giang province in the Mekong Delta, about 110 miles south of Ho Chi Minh City, he said.

No details were available about the third victim or how the three were infected.

Early this year, bird flu raged through Asia's poultry farms, and jumped to humans in cases that were mostly traced to direct contact with sick birds, killing 16 people in Vietnam.