HANOI, Feb. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- A young man, who has been confirmed to contract the H5N1 form of bird flu, died on Monday morning, raising the number of bird flu-related deaths in the country to nine, a local medical official told Xinhua on Monday.

    "The victim was admitted to our hospital too late, at midnight of Jan. 29. Our testing on Jan. 31 showed that he was infected with H5N1," said Tran Tinh Hien, deputy director of the Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City.

    The victim was an 18-year-old man from the K'ho ethnic minority in the central highlands province of Lam Dong, and may have had direct contacts to sick chickens, he added.

    "Our hospital has so far received three H5N1 infections. Two have died. We are looking after the only alive patient, an 8-year-old girl, for the next few days before discharging her," Hien noted.

    The hospital is treating five suspected cases of H5N1 infections, of whom one is in need of respirator assistance, he added.

    By Monday, Vietnam reported a total of 11 H5N1 infections. Enditem