# 2729
Vinh Long province
Lying in the center of the Mekong Delta, Vĩnh Long province is the home to more than 1 million people, and over the years, has also been the site of a number of bird flu outbreaks.
Today Reuters is reporting on a suspect H5N1 infection out of that province; that of a 31 year old man who is hospitalized with pneumonia.
Samples have been sent to the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City for testing. We should hear about his status, one way or another, over the next few days.
Sickened Vietnamese man suspected to have bird flu
Sat Jan 31, 2009 3:54am GMT
HANOI, Jan 31 (Reuters) - A 32-year-old Vietnamese man has been hospitalised in the country's southern Mekong Delta with pneumonia and doctors suspect he may have caught bird flu, a state-run newspaper said on Saturday.
Samples from the man in Vinh Long province suffering from fever, cough and pain chest were now being tested for the H5N1 virus at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, the Thanh Nien (Young People) daily said.
It did not say on how he fell sick.
The Health Ministry has warned bird flu could spread during and after this week's Lunar New Year festival when chicken is consumed in vast quantities. In addition, winter creates an ideal environment for the avian influenza virus to thrive.
On January 7th we learned of another case out of Vietnam, an 8 year-old girl from Thanh Hoa province named Bui Thi Thao. She eventually recovered, and was allowed to go home on January 15th.
Contrary to this report, since her illness began in December, she is counted in the 2008 totals.
Her older sister wasn't as lucky. She died of similar symptoms in December, but was never tested, and so is not counted as a possible bird flu victim.
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