More than half of the 57 provinces infected with bird flu in Vietnam have declared themselves free from the virus, despite another human death reported last week.

　　No outbreaks among poultry have been reported since Feb 26, and the government is scheduled to decide next week whether to declare the country bird flu-free, Bui Quang Anh, director of the Ministry of Agriculture's Veterinary Department, said yesterday.

　　Un and other international agencies have warned that Vietnam's bird flu outbreak isn't over and that the country is moving too fast in restocking its poultry.

　　Last week, officials at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City said tests showed a 12-year-old boy from southern Tay Ninh province had died of bird flu.

　　His death on March 15, Vietnam's first reported human case in more than a month, brought the country's death toll to 16. Eight other people have died in Thailand.

　　A team of experts from the institute visited the village where the boy died earlier this week and could not locate the source of illness, said state-controlled media.

　　Last week, Southern Ho Chi Minh City declared itself free from bird flu when leaders there held a chicken-eating fest. But after the announcement of the latest death, officials decided to hold off on allowing poultry farming to resume until June.

　　A serious outbreak in January forced the culling of more than 38 million chickens and other fowl, or 15 percent of Vietnam's poultry industry.

　　(The Associated Press)