Monday, March 07, 2005

Nurse with bird flu in Vietnam: source uncertain

A 26 year old male nurse from Thai Binh province who cared for case number 18 (the 21 year old elder brother of case number 20) has been diagnosed with influenza H5N1 (bird flu) and is in stable condition at Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi (via AFP, AP, Reuters, The Scotsman)

At this time health officials could not say if the patient had exposures other than to the other patient. Thai Binh province is the site of several other human cases and also poultry outbreaks. The Vietnamese health authorities speculated he might have been exposed to infected poultry when he visited his girlfriend in Thai Binh during the Tet holiday, but this remains speculation at this point (and perhaps wishful thinking).