The move was spearheaded after three H5N1 flu patients, including two fatalities, were reported in Egypt and Cambodia last month, said the National Steering Committee for Flu Prevention in Humans at a regular meeting in Hanoi on May 2.

The centre has also increased coordination with its Cambodian counterpart to monitor the disease in provinces along their common border.

In collaboration with the Pasteur Institute, the Department of Preventive Medicines under the Ministry of Health has taken measures to supervise avian influenza in the southernmost province of Ca Mau - where the last outbreak was discovered.

Other provinces and cities are also actively carrying out a US$20 million project funded by international organisations to battle the epidemic.

Vietnam has recorded 93 bird flu patients, including 42 fatalities since the first bird flu case was reported in December 2003.