Vietnamese officials have confirmed the first human case of avian influenza since 2005, state media said Friday.

The Ministry of Health has officially confirmed that a 29-year-old man has been infected with the deadly H5N1 virus, two days after the suspected case was reported, according to Vietnam News Agency.

The man, from Vinh Phuc province, 60 kilometres north of capital Hanoi, began suffering from high fever and breathing difficulties on May 10. He is in a critical condition and is being treated in Hanoi's Bach Mai Hospital. He cannot breathe without the aid of a respirator.

Five days before he fell ill, the man slaughtered chickens for a wedding party in Vinh Phuc. He also ate some chicken.

Vietnam has this month detected new bid flu outbreaks in poultry in five provinces nationwide, including Son La, Nam Dinh and Quang Ninh in the north; Nghe An in central Vietnam and Can Tho in the south.

Vietnam once had the highest number of human bird flu fatalities, with 42 people having died of the infection between 2003 and 2005, but it has since been surpassed by Indonesia with 76 deaths.

Source-IANS
SRM/V