A 43-year-old man from Vietnam's northern Hai Phong city became the first in the country who died of infection of bird flu virus strain H3N0, local newspaper Pioneer reported Thursday.

Tests by the country's National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology showed that specimens from the man named Vu Van Nhat from An Lao district, who died on Nov. 2 from respiratory failure, were positive to flu type A, subtype H3N0.

Nhat was admitted to a hospital in the city on Nov. 1 after returning home from southern Vung Tau city. During his stay in the southern city, he ate poultry meat.

The hospital suspected that the patient was infected with flu type A, subtype H5N1. However, the tests concluded that he was infected with subtype H3N0. The subtype H3N0 is less dangerous than the subtype H5N1.

Up to 92 Vietnamese people have been infected with H5N1 since bird flu started to appear in the country in late 2003. Of them, 42 have died, the Health Ministry announced early this week.

According to Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, since early last month, bird flu broke out in nine communes of sixcities and provinces, namely Bac Lieu, Dong Thap, Quang Nam, Bac Giang, Thanh Hoa and Hanoi, killing and leading to the forced culling of nearly 20,700 fowls.

Previous outbreaks starting in December 2003 killed and led to the forced culling of some 46.6 million fowls in Vietnam, causing losses of 3.5 trillion Vietnamese dong (221.5 million US dollars), the agriculture ministry said.