A 61-year-old man died from respiratory and heart failure caused by A/H1N1 avian flu on June 3, a doctor at Ho Chi Minh City-based Cho Ray Hospital confirmed. This is the fifth death from the virus strain in the nation so far this year.

The man, only identified as L.K.S., who lived in Tam Nong district in the Mekong delta province of Dong Thap, was taken to hospital in Dong Thap with symptoms of pneumonia and respiratory failure on June 1. He was later transferred to Cho Ray hospital on the same day.

The testing results showed that he had contracted A/H1N1 virus, according to Dr. Hoang Lan Phuong of Cho Ray hospital.

The doctor said a week before the hospitalization, the man showed flu symptoms such as high fever and coughing but he only took medicine then and one day before that, he had labored breathing.

Dr. Phuong added that the hospital is treating a 24-year-old female factory worker who contracted A/H1N1 after eating rice gruel with chicken.

She said the patient is now in critical condition. She had delivered a baby at Tu Du hospital one day before she was admitted to Cho Ray.

The 4th death from the virus strain occurred in early May when a 72-year-old man in Ho Chi Minh City died from respiratory failure after only a day of treatment which local health authorities said was the first case recorded in the city.

According to the World Health Organization, there are no signs of changes in the genes of the H1N1 virus.