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The last outbreak, in the central province of Kasai, started on August 20, when a 34-year-old pregnant woman was admitted to hospital.

The floods, which were caused by a rare cyclone that had formed over the Malacca Strait, have hit three provinces and impacted some 1.4 million people, according to the government's disaster agency.

China is Laos' dominant economic partner through infrastructure investments including a railway linking Vientiane and Kunming, in Yunnan province, and a wider economic corridor.

Two vessels sank in the rough seas, a fishing boat in Khanh Hoa province and a smaller raft in Lam Dong, according to the environment ministry.

Across the 10 provinces hit by flooding, more than 160 people have been killed, the government said on Saturday.