Teenage Lao girl dies from bird flu at Nong Khai provincial hospital
APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL
Bangkok Post & REUTERS
A 15-year-old Lao girl has died from bird flu at Nong Khai Hospital, where she was admitted for treatment nearly three weeks ago, the provincial health office said yesterday.
The girl died on Wednesday due to a severe lung infection, said the chief of Nong Khai provincial health office, Dr Ittipol Sungkaeng.
She was the first confirmed death from the H5N1 virus from Laos, according to the Lao Health Ministry.
A 42-year-old Lao woman died of suspected bird flu last week, but tests have not yet confirmed she had the H5N1 virus.
The teenage girl was living in a suburb of Vientiane, where the virus was found in poultry in January. But officials say the level of her exposure to infected poultry is still unclear.
She was admitted by her family for treatment at the provincial hospital in Nong Khai, opposite the Lao capital, on Feb 17.
The director-general of the Disease Control Department, Thawat Sundarachan, said Lao authorities had demanded that the girl's body be cremated in Thailand for fear that transporting it could lead to the spread of the virus.
The cremation was held in Nong Khai yesterday. The funeral was attended by the victim's family as well as Lao government officials.
Dr Thawat said the department had collected tissue specimens, which will be sent for tests at a World Health Organisation laboratory.
He said the ministry had strengthened avian influenza controls and prevention operations along the Thai-Lao border in the wake of the latest outbreak of the disease and the country's first bird flu-related death.
Landlocked Laos borders China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, which have all suffered human deaths from bird flu.
Lao Health Minister Ponmek Dalaloy said in a statement released after the girl's death that the country had stepped up bird flu surveillance and public awareness efforts.
''The government is enforcing immediate and stringent intervention such as culling of all infected poultry, strengthening hospital surveillance and carrying out intensive information campaigns to educate people on key preventative measures,'' Dr Ponmek said.
The virus has infected at least 275 people in 12 countries since 2003 and killed at least 167 of them in 10 countries, including 17 fatalities in Thailand.
The girl died on Wednesday due to a severe lung infection, said the chief of Nong Khai provincial health office, Dr Ittipol Sungkaeng.
She was the first confirmed death from the H5N1 virus from Laos, according to the Lao Health Ministry.
A 42-year-old Lao woman died of suspected bird flu last week, but tests have not yet confirmed she had the H5N1 virus.
The teenage girl was living in a suburb of Vientiane, where the virus was found in poultry in January. But officials say the level of her exposure to infected poultry is still unclear.
She was admitted by her family for treatment at the provincial hospital in Nong Khai, opposite the Lao capital, on Feb 17.
The director-general of the Disease Control Department, Thawat Sundarachan, said Lao authorities had demanded that the girl's body be cremated in Thailand for fear that transporting it could lead to the spread of the virus.
The cremation was held in Nong Khai yesterday. The funeral was attended by the victim's family as well as Lao government officials.
Dr Thawat said the department had collected tissue specimens, which will be sent for tests at a World Health Organisation laboratory.
He said the ministry had strengthened avian influenza controls and prevention operations along the Thai-Lao border in the wake of the latest outbreak of the disease and the country's first bird flu-related death.
Landlocked Laos borders China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, which have all suffered human deaths from bird flu.
Lao Health Minister Ponmek Dalaloy said in a statement released after the girl's death that the country had stepped up bird flu surveillance and public awareness efforts.
''The government is enforcing immediate and stringent intervention such as culling of all infected poultry, strengthening hospital surveillance and carrying out intensive information campaigns to educate people on key preventative measures,'' Dr Ponmek said.
The virus has infected at least 275 people in 12 countries since 2003 and killed at least 167 of them in 10 countries, including 17 fatalities in Thailand.
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