A 21-year-old Nepalese man has died of bird flu, the first recorded death from the virus in Nepal, health officials said on Thursday.
“The man was admitted to hospital in Kathmandu after he contracted the H5N1 virus in late March, but died four days later,’’ Ministry of Health official Pushpa Chaudhary said.
Samples from the patient were sent to Japan for further testing, which confirmed that the deadly avian virus had transmitted to human.
Health officials have destroyed tens of thousands of poultry products, including chickens and eggs, following the virus outbreak in Nepal in recent months.
Bird flu is a highly infectious disease found in birds, which causes high fever, sore throat, cough and respiratory problems in humans.
According to the World Health Organisation, no fewer than 454 people have died from the disease worldwide since 2003.
(dpa/NAN)