Fourteen people in seven Vietnam´s southern localities have been hospitalized since Monday for being suspected of suffering bird flu, a local health official told Xinhua.

    Of the cases, four were confirmed to have contracted virus H5N1.One bird flu patient from southern Tien Giang province is in serious health condition, and three others from southern provinces of Tay Ninh, Tra Vinh and Dong Thap died, said the official of Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

    "Hospitals, which are treating the suspected cases, are actively conducting tests to determine whether they got H5N1 virusor not,"the official said asking for anonymity.

    The spread of the virus is favored as cooler temperatures and an increase in the movement of fowls ahead of the Lunar New Year, which falls in February.

    To deal with the situation, Vietnam is taking urgent anti-bird flu measures, such as tightening management over transport and trading of poultry, conducting closer surveillance on the current situation of fowl flocks nationwide, and intensifying propaganda on the disease via mass media.

    According to the Department of Animal Health, since last December, the relapse of bird flu has been seen in 13 localities across the country, killing or leading to the forced culling of nearly 100,000 fowls.

    In late March 2004, Vietnam declared an end to the bird flu that killed 17 percent of its poultry population and claimed at least 21 human lives during the previous outbreak starting in December 2003. A total of 43.2 million fowls nationwide either died or were culled, causing a total loss of 1.3 trillion Vietnamese dong (82.8 million dollars) to the local poultry industry.

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the various reports seem to set researchers into confusion. further detail information of the patient is waiting. currently, the identification of cases can only be categoried by their gender, age and province.