Vietnam reveals human bird flu fears

Medical officials in Vietnam fear they will soon see some human cases of bird flu following new outbreaks of the disease among poultry.

Vietnam has been badly hit by bird flu in recent times, with 52 of the 245 global human deaths from the H5N1 strain since 2003 occurring in the country. Only Indonesia has a worse record, with 112 deaths.

Dr Nguyen Huy Nga, head of Vietnam's department for preventive medicine and environment, revealed details of new cases of bird flu in Ca Mau and Nghe An provinces to the Vietnam News Agency on Wednesday.

He said there was no sign of human infections in the outbreaks yet, but added: "Due to the conducive weather conditions and the unpredictable development of the epidemic in poultry, there is a high risk of a human case."

The official added that his department was stepping up its programme of bird flu epidemic prevention training in a bid to ensure local medical workers are equipped to deal with any further outbreaks.

News brought to you by Global Health TV, covering the issues of health in the developing world.