HANOI, Jan. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- The World Health Organization confirmed two more H5N1 infections in southern Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, raising the total number of confirmations of the virus in the country to seven.

    The two cases, an 8-year-old girl and a 13-year-old-boy, are the first ones confirmed to have the H5N1 virus in the south of the country, according to WHO's media release on Saturday.

    The boy has died in Pediatric Hospital Number 2 in Ho Chi Minh City, bringing the country's death toll from the bird flu to six, including five children. Five of the deaths had been from northern localities around Hanoi capital.

    The girl, who is being treated in the Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, is in critical condition, but stable.

    The World Health Organization is working closely with health authorities in Ho Chi Minh City and the rest of Vietnam to monitor H5N1 infections. Enditem