The number of flu type A infections and suspects in Vietnam rose by eight since Monday afternoon to 185 on Tuesday afternoon.

Of the hospitalized cases, who came from 27 cities and provinces, 32 died, 21 fully recovered and 132 were under treatment, the Ministry of Health said on Wednesday.

By Tuesday afternoon, hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City alone had admitted 80 patients, of whom 11 had died.

Two alive H5N1 suffers, who are in good conditions, include an eight-old girl from Ho Chi Minh City, and a 30-year-old man from central highlands Lam Dong province, said the city's Department of Health on Wednesday.

The ministry said it has already distributed 21,000 tablets of Tamiflu, part of Japan's assistance, to hospitals which are treating flu type A patients. According to many local doctors, Tamiflu is the most effective if 40 grams of the anti-viral medicine is drunk by patients right after they show symptoms of flu.

The German government has agreed to grant 15,000 US dollars to Vietnam. The German technical cooperation agency GTZ will use the money to buy and distribute protective clothes to health workers who participate in anti-bird flu activities in Vietnam.

The country's Central Veterinarian Department said that as of Tuesday afternoon, 2,411 communes of 57 cities and provinces nationwide were hit by bird flu, which infected, killed and led to culling of over 32 million poultry.

(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2004)