First death from H1N1 flu in Ho Chi Minh City

May 07, 2013 | 14:44

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A 72-year-old man in Ho Chi Minh City has died from the H1N1 avian flu after only a day of treatment. This is the first death from the virus strain in the city so far this year, health authorities reported.

A patient of H1N1 flu being treated at a hospital in Da Lat (for illustration only) Tuoi Tre

The man, Nguyen Huu C., who lived in District 11, was taken to the 7A Hospital on May 2 and died from respiratory failure a day later despite intensive treatment and care, the HCMC Preventive Health Center said.

The man’s death took the nationwide death toll from H1N1 to four this year, the center said.

Samples taken from the patient were sent to the HCMC Tropical Diseases Hospital for testing, and the results showed that he had contracted the virus, said Tran Phu Manh Sieu, director of the center.

Health workers have sprayed chemicals to disinfect the patient’s home, Sieu said.

Two days before developing flu symptoms such as coughing, a high fever, chest pain and labored breathing, the old man toured Sac Forest in HCMC’s Can Gio District, his relatives told doctors.

Currently none of his family members have shown signs of flu, and health authorities have yet to track down the source of the virus that killed the man.

Before this case about 300,000 people had contracted avian flu so far this year, three of whom have died from H1N1, the Health Ministry reported.

According to the World Health Organization, there are no signs of changes in the genes of the H1N1 virus.

Every year the world has about 5 million case of serious flu, with a mortality rate of 5-10 percent, WHO said.

In related developments, international media reported that the new avian flu strain H7N9 has so far affected 131 people in China and killed 31 of them since its first appearance on February 18.

There is no evidence that the virus can transmit from human to human, WHO said.