# 1715
This is the time of year when we usually see an increase in the number of human cases of H5N1 infection, and this year appears to be no exception.
Coming on the heels of the announcement this morning from China of a bird flu related death, and the Egyptian report of a 4-year-old girl with the virus this afternoon, we get news tonight from Vietnam on the death of a 23-year old teacher from avian influenza.
There is also a 7-year-old child in Vietnam, diagnosed with the virus, and reports that indicate there may be others as well.
So far, these cases appear to be scattered geographically around the country.
Bird flu kills Vietnamese woman
Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:54am GMT
HANOI (Reuters) - Bird flu has killed a woman teacher in northern Vietnam, the fourth death from the H5N1 virus this year, state-run Voice of Vietnam radio reported on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old woman died on Monday at a Hanoi hospital after falling sick as she ate chicken in her home province of Phu Tho, the radio quoted the Health Ministry as saying.
In communist-run Vietnam, official announcements are often made in state-run media.
Tests performed at a Vietnamese laboratory confirmed the woman had the H5N1 virus, the report said. The death has not been confirmed by the World Health Organisation (See Factbox).
The woman's death is the fourth out of five people infected by bird flu so far this year in Vietnam after an extended cold spell in northern provinces. The virus is usually most active in colder weather.
A 7-year-old child from the northern province of Hai Duong who has been confirmed as infected by the H5N1 virus remained under treatment at a pediatric hospital in Hanoi, doctors said.
