HO CHI MINH CITY, June 8 (Xinhua) -- A 26-year-old woman from Ho Chi Minh City has died from bird flu A/H1N1, becoming the first human fatality in the city so far this year, the municipal Preventive Medicine Center said Friday.

The woman from Thu Duc District self-treated her illness at home. Samples taken from her have been tested positive to H1N1 virus.

Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City is treating a 49-year-old driver from central Binh Thuan province. His samples have been positive to the bird flu virus, said the center.

The city has so far reported 28 suspected and confirmed cases of H1N1 infection, including 16 confirmed ones.

According to the World Health Organization, the disease can be transmitted by droplets emanating from unprotected coughs and sneezes, hand contamination, and interpersonal encounters in crowded closed spaces.

In a tropical country like Vietnam, the influenza circulates the entire year round, usually reaching several peaks in the rainy season. The A/H1N1 virus causes pernicious respiratory infection.

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 its Health Ministry.