Is bird flu expanding its lethal tentacles in the sphere of Vietnam again? It seems so since in the recent days a Vietnamese woman has succumbed to the deadly force of bird flu and has died as a result. What’s more important is that the very woman with this has become the country’s fourth human victim of the disease this year. Well, before proceeding any more we should comprehend this deadly disease and its portentous effects.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, which is also known as “bird flu,” A(H5N1) or simply H5N1, is a subtype of the Influenza A virus which can bring about illness in humans and many other animal species. A bird-adapted strain of H5N1, called HPAI A(H5N1) for “highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of type A of subtype H5N1″, is the causative agent of H5N1 flu, commonly known as “avian influenza” or “bird flu”. It is enzootic in many bird populations, especially in Southeast Asian and is disastrously affecting human population too.

What led the Vietnamese woman to this calamitous consequence? According to reports, the victim, Pham Thi Hao, fell ill on April 15 and was admitted to the provincial hospital last Tuesday with serious lung and heart infections which required her to be placed on a respirator. It ought to be mentioned that samples taken two days before her death were tested in Hanoi and exhibited that she was positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus. However, there is nothing to get astounded since Vietnam has the world’s second-highest bird flu death toll after Indonesia, with 56 deaths.

The development in this incident was quite similar to that of three-year-old, Tran Cong Phuc, who died in southern Vietnam from the deadly H5N1 strain, on the last month. In accordance with the views of concerned doctors, he did have soup cooked from chickens which had died without prior notice.

What should be done to check the precarious expansion? According to both of World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), it’s urgent for Vietnam to keep a close eye on the bird flu situation to prevent more deaths. In addition, it should initiate mass awareness campaign.