HO CHI MINH CITY, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Specimens from a 69-year-old man, who died on June 30, have tested positive for H1N1 by the Pasteur Institute in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, according to local health department on Thursday.
The man from southern Ca Mau province died, becoming the fourth fatality of flu virus H1N1 in the country's southern region so far this year.
Last month, Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City recorded 28 suspected and confirmed cases of H1N1 infection. Of the 16 confirmed ones, three have died.
Vietnam experienced an H1N1 pandemic in 2009, with over 9,000 cases of people contracting the disease and nearly 20 deaths within four months of the year, according to the Health Ministry.
In a tropical country like Vietnam, the bird flu circulates the entire year round, usually reaching several peaks in the rainy season. The H1N1 virus causes pernicious respiratory infection.