Girl dies of bird flu, 11th victim this year

A 13-year-old girl died of bird flu in a Ho Chi Minh City hospital Saturday, the 11th victim this month to die from the disease. A man died of the same disease in Hanoi on Thursday. The girl and her mother, who died Jan. 21, had eaten an infected duck in an area where several chickens had died of the disease. Bird flu has now spread to 28 of Vietnam's 64 cities and provinces. More than 828,000 poultry have been culled since the start of the year in efforts to stop the disease. Vietnamese, Thai, UN FAO and WHO officials met in Hanoi Friday to discuss the crisis. (Agence France Presse, Jan. 29).