HANOI, Jan. 20 Kyodo

A woman died of bird flu late Wednesday in southern Vietnam, becoming the sixth fatality since the recurrence of bird flu here in mid-December, a health official said Thursday.

The 18-year-old woman from the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang died late Wednesday at a Ho Chi Minh City hospital after battling the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu over the past few weeks, said Tran Thi Phuong, deputy director of Tien Giang's Preventive Health Center.

Phuong said the woman, who was hospitalized on Jan. 5 in critical condition, had eaten sick chicken but did not prepare it.

All six confirmed cases of H5N1 infection in Vietnam since the recurrence of the disease have resulted in death, bringing the total number of bird flu fatalities in the country to 26 since the first reported case early last year.

A 42-year-old man from Thai Binh Province, hospitalized in Hanoi earlier this week, has initially tested positive for H5N1 but the result have yet to be official confirmed, Health Ministry official Tran Duc Long said.

Long said further tests will be needed on the man as he is known to have had direct contact with poultry and he would be the first bird flu patient in the north of Vietnam in 2005 if confirmed.

The epidemic has hit 18 provinces including the capital, Hanoi.

On Monday, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai ordered a temporary ban of imports of poultry and poultry products from neighboring countries, as part of emergency measures to contain the situation.

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