The girl has since recovered, but her 13-year-old sister had died a few weeks earlier and was buried before being tested for the flu.

Ly Tai Mui of Quang Ninh’s Dam Ha District has not improved after being admitted to the Quang Ninh General Hospital last Tuesday with severe respiratory problems that developed five days earlier. She remains on respiratory support.

Tests conducted by the National Epidemic Institute have confirmed Mui has the H5N1 virus (the strain that causes avian flu), said Nguyen Hong Hanh, director of the Quang Ninh General Hospital.

Local health officials said that she had eaten chicken before developing a high fever, low blood pressure and breathing difficulties.

Work on containing a possible epidemic was also underway in Mui’s hometown where sick and dead poultry have been discovered.

Quang Ninh, home to the world renowned Ha Long Bay, is located about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Hanoi.

The avian flu has infected poultry in at least five provinces in the country so far: Ca Mau, Bac Lieu and Soc Trang in the Mekong Delta; and Nghe An and Quang Ninh province in the north.

Since 2003, Vietnam has lost 52 people to the bird flu, the second highest death toll in the world after Indonesia, where the virus has killed 115 people.

Chicken thieves face criminal charges

Meanwhile, police in Hanoi’s Thuong Tin District said Monday they were seeking charges against 12 people who tried to retrieve around 1,000 chickens being taken for culling as part of efforts to contain the bird flu virus.

The 12 persons detained were among many Thuong Tin District residents to flock to the scene and grab back around two thirds of 1,500 chickens of dubious origin that the Hanoi Veterinary Bureau had gathered for culling last Thursday.

They dug up holes to retrieve buried chickens or jumped into the trucks to take the fowl back, overpowering 10 animal health and market watchdog officials at the scene.

Source: TN, Agencies