A man from Vietnam's northern Ninh Binh province died from bird flu Friday morning, raising the total number of bird flu fatalities in the country since December 2003 to 50, according to a report of Central Vietnam Television.

The 27-year-old man named Hoang Van Doan was admitted to the Bach Mai Hospital in the capital Hanoi on Feb. 12. He slaughtered chickens for meal on Feb. 5.

The Vietnamese Health Ministry on Feb. 13 confirmed a death of a 40-year-old man from northern Hai Duong Province, who died on Feb. 13 after four days of treatment in the capital city, was infected with bird flu virus strain H5N1. The man named Do Van Sanslaughtered dead fighting chickens for meal before exhibiting bird flu symptoms on Feb. 2, said the TV report.

Cooked chickens are displayed at a market in Hanoi,Vietnam, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2008. (photo: Xinhua/AFP)

Late last month the ministry confirmed that a 32-year-old ethnic man named Tran Van Dong from northern Tuyen Quang province died from bird flu on Jan. 18. He slaughtered and ate dead fowls raised by his family for meal.

In late December 2007, after detecting no human cases of bird flu infections for nearly four months, the ministry confirmed that a four-year-old boy from northern Son La Province died from bird flu on Dec. 16, 2007.

To date, Vietnam has reported a total of 104 human cases of bird flu infections, including 50 fatalities, since the disease started to hit the country in December 2003.

Vietnam currently has four localities having poultry being hit by bird flu: northern Thai Nguyen, central Quang Binh Province, northern Quang Ninh Province and southern Long An Province, the Department of Animal Health under the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said on Thursday.

Bird flu killed 685 fowls in a flock in Quang Ninh's Mong Cai town from Feb. 12-13, and 150 ducks in Long An's Ben Luc district on Feb. 9, the department said, noting that their specimens were tested positive to H5N1.

Bird flu outbreaks in Vietnam, starting in December 2003, have killed and led to the forced culling of dozens of millions of fowls in the country.  

(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2008)