Laos confirmed today its first human victim to avian influenza, a 15-year-old girl who was receiving medical treatment across the border in Thailand. The 15-year-old died Wednesday at Nong Khai Provincial Health Centre, 500 kilometres north-east of Bangkok, at approximately 6:30 p.m., dpa quoted World Health Organization (WHO) and hospital sources as saying. The unidentified teenager from Vientiane, Laos' capital, was admitted to the hospital more than a week ago after showing symptoms associated with the H5N1 virus. "She died from lung failure," said Dr. Itthipon Sungkaeng, of Nong Khai Health Centre, in a telephone interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. The Lao government and WHO issued a joint statement in Vientiane acknowledging the death as the land-locked country's first bird flu fatality. Laos is still awaiting lab results to confirm that a 42-year-old woman who died at a Vientiane Hospital on Saturday had also succumbed to the virus. "The 42-year-old was very likely H5N1 positive but we're still awaiting lab results from Tokyo," said Dida Connor, a WHO spokesperson in Vientiane.
