HANOI, July 4 (Xinhua) -- A 19-year-old man from Vietnam's northern Thai Nguyen province was discharged from hospital on Wednesday, becoming the third bird flu patient fully recovering since mid-May, Vietnam News Agency reported.

    The man named Ha Van Nguyen was released from the Tropical Disease Hospital in Hanoi capital after 38 days of treatment. He exhibited bird flu symptoms after having slaughtered and eaten chickens at a poultry slaughterhouse in Hanoi on May 14.

    Vietnam has reported five human bird flu cases since mid-May, of whom, two died and three others fully recovered, according to the Vietnamese Health Ministry.

    Bird flu, starting to strike Vietnam in December 2003, has hit 18 Vietnamese cities and provinces nationwide since early May, according to the Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

    But, nine localities have detected no new outbreaks for at least three weeks, meeting criteria for announcing an end to bird flu outbreaks in their territory, said the department.