HANOI, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Vietnam has confirmed that three local people, who died of bird flu early this month, were infected with the virus strain of H5N1.

    Test-verifying results in the Primer Laboratory in Chinese Hong Kong showed that specimens from two children from the northern province of Ha Tay and a young woman from the southern province of Hau Giang tested positive for H5N1, Hoang Thuy Long, director of the Vietnam's Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute, said on Wednesday.

    Earlier, tests conducted by the institute confirmed that specimens from the two children, a four-year-old boy and an 11-month-old girl, and the 25-year-old woman in Hau Giang, were positive for H5.

    To prevent possible spread of bird flu in countries hit by the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) has established a global network on controlling bird flu outbreaks, sources from Vietnam's Ministry of Health said, adding that the country has become an official member of the network.

    As a network member, Vietnam will be offered technical assistance and other forms of support in the construction of world-standard laboratory to identify strains of bird flu viruses, especially H5N1.

    The WHO said further studies can help determine whether the virus has mutated and thus yield valuable information about the further evolution of the outbreak, the risks to humans, and the best preventive measures.

    "Studies of the virus are also important in the further development, presently under way, of an effective human vaccine,"it said in a statement posted on its website. Enditem