Bird flu has hit Vietnam's northern Phu Tho province, raising the total number of affected localities nationwide to 16, according to a local veterinary agency on Thursday.

The disease, from June 1-4, killed 240 out of a flock of 370 ducks raised by a household in the province's Viet Tri city, the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said.

The provincial veterinary bureau has culled all fowls in the affected flock, disinfected affected areas, and established quarantine checkpoints around the areas.

Bird flu, starting to strike Vietnam in December 2003, has hit 83 communes in 16 Vietnamese cities and provinces nationwide since early May, said the department.

Source: Xinhua