The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an alert Tuesday over a deadly case of avian influenza (H5N1) in Vietnam.
The WHO was notified on March 25 that a 21-year-old male patient with no underlying conditions living in the Khanh Hoa Province was brought into a local area hospital with persistent symptoms — a fever and a cough — on March 11. The patient developed abdominal pain and diarrhea by March 17, which developed into severe pneumonia, severe sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome by March 20. He died on March 23, the WHO added.
It is believed the patient contracted the virus during or as a result of a bird hunting expedition in February, the WHO said. To-date, there are no reports of him having contact with sick or dead poultry, nor anyone else with similar symptoms.
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Colloquially known as “bird flu,” avian influenza A typically circulates in animals but can spread to humans, the WHO explained. Nearly all of the 888 worldwide cases reported to the organization by 23 countries between 2003 and March 2024 were amongst people who had close contact with animals or infected areas. Of those infected, 463 deaths have been reported. (RELATED: Multiple UN Agencies Issue Warning Over Global Outbreaks Of Deadly Virus)
“Currently, available epidemiological and virological evidence suggests that A(H5) viruses have not acquired the ability of sustained transmission among humans; thus, the likelihood of human-to-human spread is low,” WHO wrote in the alert.
The case in Vietnam comes just days after a Texas resident was diagnosed with a H1N5. It is believed the patient contracted the virus from the dairy farm where he worked, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Cows at the farm were tested and found to be positive for the virus, the department said in a statement.