Vietnam Confirms the death of a human from the H5N1 Bird Flu Virus. The man is a 21-year-old student in Vietnam, who has become the first person in the country to die from avian influenza or bird flu.

The Health Ministry of Vietnam confirmed the death of the student and revealed that the student is enrolled at Nha Trang University. He passed away on March 23.

According to Avian Flu Dairy, the 21-year-old student, who lives in Tan Ninh village, Ninh Trung Commune, Ninh Hoa town, Khanh Hoa province developed symptoms of fever and cough on March 11, 2024. He tried home remedies to treat the symptoms but did not give results. On March 16 or 17, 2024, he visited the Ninh Hoa Medical Center for examination and treatment, afterwards he shifted to Khanh Hoa General Hospital for treatment with a diagnosis of pneumonia.

The Khanh Hoa Centre for Disease control on March 19, 2024, took the samples of the patient for testing. On March 20 the test results were received which showed the patient tested positive for influenza A/H5 and on March 22, it was further confirmed by Nha Trang Pasteur Institute. However, due to the serious development of disease, the student passed away on March 23.

This death due to bird flu raised concerns among health officials to incite them to execute strict measures to reduce flu transmission to humans. According to the inquiry, there were no signs of ill or dead poultry at the student’s home, but reports that there were wild birds allegedly captured in the surrounding area around the Lunar New Year celebrations. The outbreaks of bird flu have been reported in six Vietnamese provinces and cities since January.

The Health Ministry of Vietnam indicated that shifting weather phenomena and changing seasons could provide favorable ground for the virus to increase rapidly. To retort this emerging menace, they intensified monitoring to detect any possible new cases and they also arranged other safety measures.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), H5N1 is a type of influenza virus that causes a highly infectious, severe respiratory disease in birds. It is also called Avian influenza. Humans are rarely infected with H5N1 and transmission from human to human is difficult.

Humans are infected with the virus through direct contact with the infected live or dead birds and their droppings. The symptoms of the H5N1 virus may include Fever, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches. Other symptoms include abdominal pain, chest pain, and diarrhea. The infection may swiftly develop into severe respiratory illness and neurological changes. 

The virus is sensitive to heat, so it is safe to eat properly prepared and cooked poultry meat. Humans infected with H5N1 virus should be quickly treated in hospital and may need intensive care. Oseltamivir, an antiviral medicine can reduce the severity of the infection and death. To prevent the H5N1 infection a candidate vaccine has been developed but the vaccine is presently not accessible to common use.

References:

1. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/influenza-h5n1

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Lavanya Beeraboina/MSM)