The first person who died after three days in hospital with fever and breathing difficulties was a 46-year-old woman from Krong Pac District’s Hoa An Commune.

The second patient, aged 42, from Dong Tam Commune, Dong Phu District, fell ill on Tuesday, was admitted to the provincial General Hospital on Friday and died on Saturday.

Both had tested positive for the A/H1N1 flu virus at their local hospitals.

The Ministry of Health is yet to confirm the reason for the deaths and if it is proved that they both died from swine flu, the number of fatalities from the virus in Vietnam will rise to nine.

Meanwhile, the Tran Quang Dieu High School in Hoai An District, Central Binh Dinh Province has become the third in the province to have a field hospital erected on the premises to treat its pupils. The school has more than 50 pupils suspected of contracting the A/H1N1 flu virus.

All the schools with suspected cases of A/H1N1 in An Nhon District of the same province have been closed until the end of the month.