Vietnam has not detected any local people contracting bird flu virus strain H5N1 since Sept. 1, according to local newspaper Saigon Liberation on Friday.

"Now, no bird flu patient is under treatment at hospitals nationwide," the paper quoted Deputy Health Minister Trinh Quan Huan as saying.

To prevent new bird flu outbreaks, Vietnam started bird flu vaccination among fowls in 33 out of 64 cities and provinces on Thursday. The government urged relevant ministries to rapidly cull infected fowls, isolate bird flu outbreaks, and forbid the transport of poultry as well as poultry products out of affected areas, if the disease is spotted in any localities.

According to local veterinary agencies, up to 70 percent of waterfowls in the southern Mekong delta have been recently tested positive to H5N1. Vietnam has culled over 1,300 fowls in the eight localities of Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Can Tho, Tra Vinh, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Bac Ninh and Hanoi since early April.

To help the country fight against the disease, the United States is to fund 500,000 US dollars for a project to enhance Vietnam's bird flu surveillance network this year. The 5-year project is expected to receive a total aid of 2.5 million dollars from foreign countries.

To early detect infections among humans, the ministry is proposing the World Health Organization assist the country in establishing surveillance systems at 800 hospitals nationwide.

The ministry has confirmed that a total of 64 local people from 25 localities had been infected with bird flu since early this year, of whom 21 died.