An official source reports that samples from chickens that have died recently in Long An province in the south of the country have been tested positive to avian flu virus strain H5N1.

Duong Minh Phi, deputy head of the province's Veterinary Bureau said that tests at Viet Nam's Regional Animal Health Center No. 6 have shown that some of the 3,000-bird chicken flock belonging to a family in Can Duoc district were infected with the virus.

Ten days previously, the birds developed typical symptoms and began to die, he said.

The Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has yet to confirm the avian flu outbreak in Long An.

So far, only southern Tra Vinh province is hit by the disease, the department said.

It is reported that avian flu outbreaks, which began in Viet Nam in December 2003, have killed and led to the culling of dozens of millions of poultry.