Tra Vinh province reports second death from swine flu virus

A medical worker tends a patient (Photo: VNA)

Tra
Vinh (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh recorded its
second death from A/H1N1 this year when an 82-year-old woman died of the swine
flu virus on August 9.

The provincial Department of Health said on
August 14 that the patient in Hieu Tu commune of Tieu Can district began to
show symptoms of high fever and urinary retention on July 27 and was
hospitalised three days later with initial diagnosis of pneumonia and
myocardial infarction. She died on August 9.

Test results at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi
Minh City showed she was positive for the A/H1N1 virus.

Deputy Director of the Health Department Nguyen
Huu Phuoc said Tra Vinh has recorded four A/H1N1 cases this year and both the
deaths were in Tieu Can district. Facing complex developments of A/H1N1, the
local health sector has been working with media outlets to spread information
about the virus.

A/H1N1 is one of the three most common seasonal
influenza strains in Vietnam, with several deaths reported since the year’s
beginning.

It causes a pernicious respiratory infection.
Patients suffering from A/H1N1 and seasonal flu normally recover after a week.
However, vulnerable groups include the elderly, children, pregnant women,
diabetics, cancer patients, HIV-positive people and those with pre-existing
respiratory issues.

Vietnam previously experienced an
epidemic in 2009, with more than 9,000 cases of the virus and nearly 20 deaths in
four months, according to the Ministry of Health.-VNA