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One of the great difficulties in dealing with the H5N1 virus is that it can be difficult to diagnose victims correctly. The symptoms of avian flu are maddeningly similar to a variety of other viral (and even bacterial) infections.
Testing can take days, and even then, test results are oft times suspect and must be repeated.
While there are hopes for more sensitive rapid tests down the road, for now, doctors must assume anyone in an H5N1 affected region who comes down with certain symptoms - and has a history of contact with poultry – to be a suspect bird flu case until other proven different.
Today we learn, via The Thanh Nien News, that the 26-year-old bird flu suspect who died last Friday in Soc Trang Province tested negative for the H5N1 virus.
Woman suspected of dying from bird flu tests negative
A woman suspected of dying from avian influenza at a hospital in southern Bac Lieu Province last Friday has tested negative for the virus, the Bac Lieu Preventative Health Center said Monday.
The center’s director Nguyen Thanh Tung said tests had confirmed that patient Ly Thi Hang from the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang had not contracted the H5N1 virus.
Hang was admitted to the hospital last Monday with symptoms similar to those of bird flu including headache, fatigue, and respiratory distress.
A person familiar with the matter said Hang had eaten sick ducks about a month ago.
Reported by Tran Thanh Phong
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