(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-25 11:42

HANOI - Vietnam is testing its bird flu vaccines on 10 first volunteers with encouraging results, according to local newspaper Youth on Tuesday.

The health of the 10 volunteers, staff of Vietnam's National Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute which produces the vaccines, after vaccination is good. The trial vaccination will be extended to nearly 300 local medical students in April.

Vietnam is one of few countries in the world having been successful in making bird flu vaccines from monkey kidneys' cells in international-standard laboratories, the newspaper said.

To date, Vietnam has confirmed a total of 106 human cases of bird flu infections, including 52 fatalities, in 35 cities and provinces since bird flu started to hit the country in December 2003.

Vietnam currently has six localities having poultry being hit by bird flu including  Hanoi, the three central provinces of Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Quang Nam, and the two southern provinces of Soc Trang and Ca Mau, according to the country's Department of Animal Health on March 24.

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.