Bird flu claims 19th victim in Asia

Health officials in Vietnam's southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City said the latest victim, who was from Binh Phuoc province, had died early Monday after being admitted to the Hospital for Tropical Disease on Thursday.

A 30 year-old man from neighbouring Lam Dong province was taken to the same hospital the following day and also tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu. Doctors said he was in a stable condition.

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In human terms, Vietnam is the worst hit of the 10 Asian nations and the United States currently tackling outbreaks of bird flu. Thailand, where five people had died, is the only other country with confirmed human infections.

In total 19 Vietnamese have been infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, 14 of whom have died. Two others have made a complete recovery but three remain hospitalised in the communist nation.

The World Health Organisation has warned that H5N1 could kill millions across the globe if it combined with a human influenza virus to create a new, highly contagious strain transmissible among humans.

Meanwhile, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said Monday that Japan, the largest market for its 1.2 billion-dollar poultry export business, would send a team of experts to the kingdom this week to test its chickens.

The country has eradicated all but one of its 163 outbreaks of the H5N1 virus, which had been reported in more than half of its 76 provinces including Bangkok, where the remaining outbreak is located.

"I believe Thailand will be the first Asian nation to eradicate this disease," Somkid said.

But as Thailand appeared to be bringing bird flu under control, it continued to spread in China, the world's second-largest producer and fifth-largest exporter of chicken meat.