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LAOS -Confirmed second human case dies of bird flu in Laos: WHO

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  • #16
    Re: LAOS - human case confirmed

    Bird flu kills 15-year-old girl in Laos
    08 Mar 2007 06:08:28 GMT
    <!-- 08 Mar 2007 06:08:28 GMT ## for search indexer, do not remove-->Source: Reuters

    <!-- AN5.0 article title end --><!-- AN5.0 article header -->
    The intelligence, technology, and human expertise you need to find trusted answers.


    BANGKOK, March 8 (Reuters) - A 15-year-old Lao girl has died from bird flu, the Health Ministry said on Thursday, the country's first confirmed death from the H5N1 virus.

    She died on Wednesday in a hospital in neighbouring Thailand, it said in a statement. A 42-year-old Lao woman died of suspected bird flu last week, but tests have not yet confirmed the H5N1 virus.

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    • #17
      Re: LAOS - human case confirmed

      Hat-tip, christian!

      Lao bird flu victim cremated in Thailand

      MCOT - Thursday 8 March 2007 08:42:38 PM (GMT+7:00)

      NONG KHAI, March 8 (TNA) -- The remains of a 15-year-old Lao girl who died here Wednesday were cremated at a Buddhist temple in Nong Khai municipality Thursday.

      The Vientiane native was pronounced dead due to avian influenza -- bird flu -- after being hospitalised in Nong Khai province for 19 days.

      Nong Khai public health chief Dr. Itthipol Sungkhaeng said that the teenage girl succumbed to the deadly airborne disease although a team of Thai doctors had put every possible effort to save her life.

      She was the second Lao patient to die of bird flu. The first victim was found in Ponhong, a town about 70 kilometres from the Lao capital of Vientiane.

      The cremation came after Thai public health officials held talks with Lao counterparts. Moreover, the victim's family agreed that her body would be cremated in Nong Khai so as to prevent further spread of the deadly disease.

      Dr. Itthipol said that preventive measures along Thai-Lao border need strengthening. All hospitals and health centres along the border have been instructed to closely watch their patients. Extra precautions are necessary, he said, especially during the current dry season when the water level in
      Mekong River is shallower and hence more convenient for informal boat crossings.

      So far, there has been no report of additional patients with suspected bird flu symptoms, he said.

      Attending the funerals Thursday afternoon were Thai and Lao public health officials and family members of the young woman. (TNA)

      ...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. - Sherlock Holmes

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      • #18
        Re: LAOS - human case confirmed

        The first victim was found in Ponhong, a town about 70 kilometres from the Lao capital of Vientiane.
        There's a Ban Phon-Hong just north of Vientiane here:
        Get a better deal with Vio.com. Save money and get access to millions of stays; from cheap hotels and motels to luxury villas.


        There's also a Muang Phon-Hong (map below). Dunno which one she was from. Check out the sizeable lake/reservoir there....

        Click image for larger version

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        ...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. - Sherlock Holmes

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        • #19
          Re: LAOS - human case confirmed

          Teenage Lao girl dies from bird flu at Nong Khai provincial hospital
          APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL & REUTERS
          March 9, 2007

          A 15-year-old Lao girl has died from bird flu at Nong Khai Hospital, where she was admitted for treatment nearly three weeks ago, the provincial health office said yesterday.

          The girl died on Wednesday due to a severe lung infection, said the chief of Nong Khai provincial health office, Dr Ittipol Sungkaeng.

          She was the first confirmed death from the H5N1 virus from Laos, according to the Lao Health Ministry.

          A 42-year-old Lao woman died of suspected bird flu last week, but tests have not yet confirmed she had the H5N1 virus. [??]

          The teenage girl was living in a suburb of Vientiane, where the virus was found in poultry in January. But officials say the level of her exposure to infected poultry is still unclear.

          She was admitted by her family for treatment at the provincial hospital in Nong Khai, opposite the Lao capital, on Feb 17.

          The director-general of the Disease Control Department, Thawat Sundarachan, said Lao authorities had demanded that the girl's body be cremated in Thailand for fear that transporting it could lead to the spread of the virus.

          The cremation was held in Nong Khai yesterday. The funeral was attended by the victim's family as well as Lao government officials.

          Dr Thawat said the department had collected tissue specimens, which will be sent for tests at a World Health Organisation laboratory.

          He said the ministry had strengthened avian influenza controls and prevention operations along the Thai-Lao border in the wake of the latest outbreak of the disease and the country's first bird flu-related death.

          Landlocked Laos borders China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, which have all suffered human deaths from bird flu.

          Lao Health Minister Ponmek Dalaloy said in a statement released after the girl's death that the country had stepped up bird flu surveillance and public awareness efforts.

          ''The government is enforcing immediate and stringent intervention such as culling of all infected poultry, strengthening hospital surveillance and carrying out intensive information campaigns to educate people on key preventative measures,'' Dr Ponmek said.

          The virus has infected at least 275 people in 12 countries since 2003 and killed at least 167 of them in 10 countries, including 17 fatalities in Thailand.

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          ...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. - Sherlock Holmes

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          • #20
            Laos fears bird flu spreading south from capital

            Laos fears bird flu spreading south from capital

            The intelligence, technology, and human expertise you need to find trusted answers.


            BANGKOK, March 9 (Reuters) - The deadly bird flu virus is spreading into southern provinces of impoverished, landlocked Laos after outbreaks near Vientiane, a government spokesman said on Friday.

            Officials planned to cull up to 200,000 fowl to stamp out confirmed and suspected outbreaks in the southern provinces of Savannakhet and Champasak and stop the H5N1 virus in and around the capital, Yong Chanhthalansy told Reuters.

            "Although tests have not confirmed that they have died of H5N1, our policy now is just kill them all," Yong said by telephone from Vientiane, referring to the suspected cases in Savannakhet.

            The campaign comes a day after Lao health officials confirmed the country's first death from H5N1, a 15-year-old girl who died in a hospital in neighbouring Thailand on Wednesday.

            A 42-year-old Lao woman died of suspected bird flu last week, but tests have not yet confirmed the H5N1 virus, Yong said.

            The teenage girl had lived in a suburb of Vientiane where the virus was found in poultry in January, the country's first outbreak in seven months.

            Yong said H5N1 hit villages a week ago in Champasak, which borders Thailand and Cambodia.

            Tests were also being conducted on chickens which died in Savannakhet, which is sandwiched between Vietnam and Thailand.

            Yong said the virus may be spreading due to illegal trade in fowl despite a ban on poultry imports.

            The virus has infected at least 275 people in 12 countries since 2003 and killed at least 167 of them in 10 countries, the World Health Organisation says.

            Health experts fear it could mutate into a form that people catch easily from one another, possibly sparking a pandemic.

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            • #21
              Laos Confirms Second Human H5N1 Bird-Flu Fatality in Eight Days

              and another....

              Laos Confirms Second Human H5N1 Bird-Flu Fatality in Eight Days


              By Jason Gale

              March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Laos confirmed its second human bird-flu fatality in eight days after tests showed a 42-year-old woman had the virus when she died March 4.

              A laboratory in Tokyo found specimens from the woman, who lived in a village in Vientiane province, were positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization said in an e-mailed statement today.

              Laos, one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries, is the 12th nation to report a human H5N1 case since the virus began spreading in late 2003. Infections in people increase the opportunity for the bird virus to mutate into a form that spreads easily between humans.

              The country on March 8 confirmed its first human H5N1 fatality, a 15-year-old girl from a suburb of the Laotian capital, Vientiane, who died in a Thai hospital the previous day.

              At least 168 of the 278 people known to have been infected with the H5N1 virus since late 2003 have died, the Geneva-based WHO said on March 12. Millions could die if H5N1 becomes as contagious as seasonal flu and sparks a global pandemic.

              To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net

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