The vcimtim dies of bird flu due to direct contact with diseased waterfowl (Photo: AFP)

VietNamNet Bridge - A fifteen-year-old Vietnamese boy, Cao Dinh Toan from the northern province of Thanh Hoa, died of bird flu, the Central Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute announced on August 7.

A sample taken from the patient, who died en route to Hanoi from a medical clinic in Thanh Hoa Province for emergency treatment, tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu strain.

The patient had contacted diseased waterfowl, according to a report from the Institute. Authorities have since disinfected his house and examined 33 people living nearby but found them free of the H5N1 virus. Free Tamiflu was distributed as a precaution.

Since May, seven people nationwide have been infected with the bird flu virus and four have died.

(Source: SGGP)