Two people returning from the US and Canada have tested positive for influenza A, raising the country’s total number of H1N1 cases to 28, the Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

Among the two latest cases, 18-year-old Truong Minh Tri from the US tested positive for H1N1 Wednesday after being admitted to Tien Giang General Hospital on Sunday with a fever, runny nose and cough.

He had arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC at 1 a.m. on June 12 after transiting in Japan.

The second case was a 62-year-old woman who arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport on 6 p.m. on the same day.

She had flown from Toronto and transited in Hong Kong.

The HCMC Health Department on Wednesday advised passengers sharing the two above flights to stay at home, wear face masks and avoid crowded places. The department also said people could call its hotline at (08) 3 930 9981 for instructions on how to deal with flu-like symptoms.

Health authorities in HCMC quarantined 19 passengers at Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital Wednesday after they had arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport with H1N1-like symptoms. Five others visited the hospital Wednesday to be examined for the disease.

Also Wednesday, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology reported it was coordinating with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on early detection of modified flu viruses, including H1N1.

Bac Lieu General Hospital in the eponymous Mekong Delta province reported Wednesday it had quarantined a 27-year-old man from Taiwan the previous day after he was admitted with a runny nose, sore throat and temperature of 38.5 degrees Celsius.

A doctor at the hospital said they had sent the patients’ samples to HCMC’s Pasteur Institute for testing. The hospital was also monitoring his family members.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff