Public health officials confirm that a five-year-old boy in central Thailand has died of bird flu. The Thai Health Ministry said Friday the boy died Wednesday in Nakhon Nayok province.
Lab tests confirmed Thursday that he had the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu. The death takes Thailand's bird flu death toll to 14 since the virus emerged in Asia in late 2003. The H5N1 strain has now killed 70 people in Asia.
Meanwhile, health officials in Vietnam have reported bird flu outbreaks among poultry in the central province of Quang Tri and in Son La province in the north. It is not clear if they involve the strain dangerous to humans.
Elsewhere, U.S. government researchers said Thursday a severe bird flu pandemic in humans could kill two-million Americans and push the U.S. economy into recession.
