Vietnam accelerated the slaughter of poultry in two major cities today as it tries to stop the spread of bird flu that might have infected three more people in the north.
A Vietnamese farmer gathers ducks for burning in Vinh Hung commune in Hanoi
The Tuoi Tre
State-run Voice of Vietnam radio said two people fell sick with bird flu-like symptoms in the northern province of Bac Giang, where there are already four other suspected cases after outbreaks killed ducks and chickens late last month.
The new cases took to eight the number of people in Vietnam suspected of having contracted bird flu since the H5N1 virus returned last month. Two of them have died.
But tests cleared one suspected case, that of a male student in Hanoi, health officials said.
Officials are racing against time to meet the government deadline today for ending poultry raising in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest.
newspaper said a 75-year-old woman died at a Hanoi hospital last Thursday with symptoms similar to bird flu and tests for the H5N1 virus were under way.