>> More cases of A/H1N1 in northern region
A 52-year-old patient in Soc Son District, Hanoi has died of A/H1N1 influenza on January 27 after being taken to Bach Mai Hospital in the state of respiratory failure, according to the Preventive Medicine Department under the Ministry of Health.
The hospital said the patient had years-long alcohol and smoking addiction.
According to the Ministry of Health, nearly 100 cases of the A/H1N1 flu virus have been reported in eight cities and provinces as of February 10, but most of the cases reported were mild. Hanoi topped the localities with 67 cases confirmed, followed by Ho Chi Minh City with 22 cases.
Nguyen Van Binh, head of the Preventive Medicine Department, said that the warmer weather and temperature fluctuations were not favourable conditions for the flu to circulate.
Vietnam plans to buy 1 to 5 million doses of Pandemrix, a type of vaccine which is widely used to combat the virus. Groups that are highly susceptible to the influenza including the elderly, those with chronic diseases, children and pregnant women would be eligible for a free shot, but the vaccine has yet to arrive in Vietnam.
