The latest victim was a 37-year-old man from the northern mountain province of Dien Bien, said a representative of the Preventive Medicine and the Environment Department under the Ministry of Health.

The man was admitted to the provincial General Hospital on January 22 with signs of coughing, severe pneumonia and breathing difficulties. He tested positive for the deadly A/H1N1 virus and died on February 4.

Vietnam has so far detected a total of 11,186 A/H1N1 patients, said the official at a regular meeting of the national steering committee for flu prevention in Hanoi. 

Dr Nguyen Tran Hien, head of the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology, reported that influenza infection has shown signs of abating, with only 3 percent of suspected cases testing positive for the A/H1N1 virus.

He said several A/H1N1 cases in Bac Kan province have been all treated at home and no death has been reported. None of the 153 suspected cases at the central hospital for tropical and infectious diseases have tested positive for the lethal virus.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health said bird flu has recurred in six provinces across the country, but no human infections have been confirmed.

The ministry warned that the A/H1N1 epidemic could spread far and wide in the community during the lunar New Year holiday, which begins on February 13. It recommended that the people prevent the epidemic by ensuring both personal and environmental hygiene.

It said it is working closely with relevant ministries and agencies to keep a close watch on the new development of the epidemic and cope with the worst possible cases.