HANOI, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- A four-year old child from Vietnam's northern Son La province has recently died after showing bird flu symptoms, local newspaper Labor reported Wednesday.

    The child from Moc Chau district died in the National Hospital of Pediatrics in Hanoi capital after suffering from severe pneumonia and high fever, the newspaper quoted a representative of Vietnam's Health Ministry as saying.

    The child ate a dead chicken before developing bird flu symptoms. Specimens from the child are being tested for bird flu virus strain H5N1, the representative told a meeting of the country's Anti-Bird Flu Steering Committee on Tuesday.

    Vietnam has detected seven bird flu patients from the five northern provinces of Vinh Phuc, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Ha Nam and Ha Tay since May 10, of whom four died, according to the ministry's Preventive Medicine Department.