H5N1 virus hits birds-nest farm in Vietnam

Nearly 5,000 swifts, whose nests are collected for sale as a luxury health food, have died in southern Vietnam after contracting the H5N1 bird flu virus, news report said Friday, DPA reports.

The birds, half the population of a facility in Phan Rang Thap Cham City, died between March 28 and April 11, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

The city has many so-called bird houses, where the swifts are encouraged to build their nests, which are then collected for sale. The nests, made largely of the birds' saliva, are a sought-after ingredient for soup and other delicacies.

Vietnam on Tuesday confirmed a 4-year-old boy died of the bird flu strain H5N1 in the Mekong Delta, the country's first fatality from the virus this year.