Bird flu hits family of five

A family of five in a rural district of Haiphong have tested positive for the bird flu virus. The two parents and three children, aged for months to ten years -- are reported in stable condition at Viet Tiep hospital. The family had been raising over 400 poultry, all of which have been culled. Two other Vietnamese tested positive last week, including a 17-year-old girl who died. The virus has killed 34 Vietnamese, 12 Thais and two Cambodians over the last two years. The Ministry of Health said Saturday that it will launch a major campaign next month to clean up poultry farms and cages throughout the country in order to stop the virus. (Agence France Presse, March 29, Associated Press, March 29).