HANOI, Feb. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Five suspected human cases of bird flu type A infections were hospitalized in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday, raising the total to 124.

    The 124 bird flu type A infections and suspects came from 22 cities and provinces, of whom at least 23 have died, the country's Central Television Station reported on Thursday.

    At the end of Wednesday, bird flu stroke 1,562 communes, or 15 percent of the total, of 56 localities nationwide, it said.

    In an effort to stop the bird flu spread in February as targeted, Vietnam is further promoting public awareness of the epidemic, and called for greater support of the international community.

    Vietnamese State President Tran Duc Luong, on Thursday, called for authorities of all levels to increase awareness of the people about the danger of bird flu so that they willingly sacrifice personal benefits to national ones as well as the community's health.

    He also requested health and veterinarian sectors to give raisers more detailed guidelines on proper culling operations, and the agricultural sector to work out concrete solutions on restoring the country's fowl population after the outbreak is eliminated.

    Also on Thursday, four medical experts from Chinese Hong Kong arrived in Vietnam to help local health workers diagnose suspected bird flu cases. The team, led by professor Yuan Guoyong from the Hong Kong University, will coordinate with local hospitals to review status of flu patients, and work out methods to diagnose and treat suspected or confirmed cases of flu type A subtype H5N1.

    The team will conduct a fact-finding tour of big hospitals in the capital city of Hanoi, and introduce their findings in bird flu control to Vietnamese medical staff. Enditem