H5N1: AVIAN Flu death in Vietnam

A 38-year-old woman has become the first victim of bird flu in Vietnam in 2010, bringing the country's toll from avian influenza to 58, the health ministry said Friday.

The woman died Tuesday in the southern province of Tien Giang after two days of unsuccessful hospital treatment, said the ministry in an online statement.

The victim had killed and cooked sick waterfowl, the statement added.

Vietnam's last death from the H5N1 virus was in December.

At present, outbreaks of bird flu among poultry have been reported in five provinces.

Vietnam ranks second after Indonesia for the highest bird flu death toll, according to the World Health Organization.

The H5N1 virus typically spreads from birds to humans via direct contact, but experts fear it could mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans, with the potential to kill millions in a pandemic.