HO CHI MINH CITY, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Three people from Vietnam's southern Dong Nai province have been tested positive for flu virus H1N1, including one death, the provincial Preventive Medicine Center said Friday.

Of the three patients, two are recovering well, and one died because of contracting several chronic diseases at the same time.

Before the latest H1N1 death in Dong Nai, Vietnam reported seven fatalities of the flu virus. The patients came from Ho Chi Minh City and the three southern provinces of Dong Thap, Tay Ninh and Tra Vinh.

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 country's 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.