HANOI, March 7 (Xinhuanet) -- A 26-year-old male nurse from Vietnam's northern Thai Binh province has just been confirmed to contract H5N1, raising the total number of bird flu patients in the country since late 2004 to 22.

    "Recent tests by the Institute of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi city showed that samples from Nguyen Duc Tinh, a nurse from Thai Thuy district's Healthcare Center, were positive to bird flu virusstrain H5N1," Nguyen Dinh Dan, director of the Thai Binh Health Department, told Xinhua on Monday.

    Tinh had spent some time looking after two local people from the province, a 21-year-old man and his 14-year-old sister, who were confirmed to contract H5N1 later, Dan said.

    "We are investigating whether Tinh ate or had close contact with sick poultry or not. He lives in a bird flu-hit area," the official said, adding that no members in his family have showed symptoms of bird flu.

    The patient was admitted to the institute on Feb. 28 with symptoms of high temperature, coughing and breathing difficulty, Dan noted.

    In the most recent outbreak starting in late December 2004, Vietnam has detected 22 local people to contract H5N1, of whom 13 have died.

    Bird flu, which has killed and led to the forced culling of more than 1.5 million fowls in 35 cities and provinces in Vietnam since January, is subsiding. Seventeen out of the 35 localities have detected no new bird flu-affected spots for at least three weeks. Enditem