HANOI, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam will set up 79 anti-disease taskforces equipped with necessary gears, mainly to deal with bird flu among humans, local newspaper Vietnam Agriculture reported Thursday.

    Vietnam is actively implementing two anti-bird flu projects totaling 14 million U.S. dollars funded by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Development Program, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    The country will also conduct a similar project with a loan of 16 million dollars from the World Bank in eight provinces nationwide, namely Thai Binh, Ha Tay and Lang Son in the northern region, Binh Dinh and Hue in the central region, and Long An and Tien Giang in the southern region.

    Vietnam has reported six bird flu patients since mid-May, of whom three died and three others fully recovered. It has reported a total of 99 human cases of bird flu infections, including 45 fatalities since December 2003.