HANOI, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Bird flu has stricken fowl flocks in Vietnam's southern Can Tho city over the past few days, raising the total number of affected localities in the country to three, according to Vietnam's Department of Animal Health on Thursday.

    The bird flu outbreak killed 1,131 poultry, including 1,070 chickens raised by a household in the city's Phong Dien rural district. Local veterinary forces on Wednesday culled the remainders of 829 healthy fowls in the affected flocks to prevent the disease's spread.

    Vietnam currently has three localities having poultry being hit by bird flu: northern Son La province, southern Vinh Long provinceand southern Can Tho city, the department said.

    Bird flu outbreaks in Vietnam, starting in December 2003, have killed and led to the forced culling of dozens of millions of fowls in the country.