A 51-year-old man in Binh Dinh Province, south-central Vietnam has died of A/H1pdm influenza infection that resulted in complications like septic shock and medication-induced Cushing’s syndrome.

The Binh Dinh Center for Disease Control on Tuesday reported the death to the provincial Department of Health and the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang City, located in south-central Khanh Hoa Province.

The victim was identified as Tran Van T., hailing from Binh Dinh’s Vinh Thanh District.

According to the report, he took over-the-counter medication after developing some symptoms including a high fever, headache, body aches, severe coughing, and wheezing on October 12, but his condition did not improve.

He was admitted to the Vinh Thanh District Medical Center at 11:40 pm on October 13, where he was diagnosed with stomach ulcers, vestibular disorder, and bronchitis.

On October 16, he experienced fatigue, severe coughing, wheezing, a fever of 39 degrees Celsius, and body aches.

By 6:00 pm the same day, his condition worsened and he was transferred to a higher-level hospital with a diagnosis of pneumonia, respiratory failure, pleural effusion, Cushing's syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and suspected dengue fever.

At around 5:40 am on October 17, he was transferred to the Internal Medicine Department of Binh Dinh General Hospital, where he fell into a coma at 6:15 pm and was placed on a ventilator.

As his heart rate slowed and his blood pressure dropped to undetectable levels, his family decided to take him home, where he passed away the same day.

According to the hospital’s diagnosis, he experienced bilateral pneumonia, septic shock, and medication-induced Cushing's syndrome.

The Binh Dinh Center for Disease Control on October 17 began investigating the severe viral pneumonia case, collecting the patient’s samples and sending them to the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang for testing.

The test results released the following day were positive for A/H1pdm influenza.

Following this confirmation, health authorities conducted an epidemiological investigation, identifying all individuals who had close contact with the patient in order to monitor their health.

They also disinfected the patient’s home, the medical facilities he visited, and nearby households using Chloramine B.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday morning, Associate Professor Do Van Dung, a senior public health lecturer at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, explained that the A/H1N1 pdm09 flu virus was first identified during the 2009 flu pandemic.

After the pandemic, it became a common virus circulating in the population.

As it is a seasonal flu virus, it generally causes severe illness only in people aged over 65, pregnant women, children, and those with comorbidities such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and heart failure.

The health expert advised the public not to be overly concerned about this ailment.

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