Bird Flu Risks During Lunar New Year Celebration
The World Health Organization warned on Thursday, February 3, 2005, of critical public health risks in Vietnam during Lunar New Year celebrations this month after 13 recent deaths in the country from bird flu. Vietnam has asked for help from the WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to develop a long-term strategy to contain the H5N1 virus which has spread to poultry in half of its 64 provinces and possibly into Cambodia.