She is the second pregnant woman to die of the virus. The first one was reported last Friday in the Central Highlands’ Dak Lak Province.

The Pasteur Institute in HCMC last Wednesday confirmed that the woman had tested positive for the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.

The woman was hospitalized in Can Gio District Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City last Tuesday with cough and fever and was diagnosed with pneumonia.

She was then transferred to the Tu Du Hospital the same day and diagnosed further with heart failure. From there she was taken to the HCMC Heart Institute, where she was assisted with a respirator and treated with tamiflu, but she did not respond to treatment.

The baby also died as the embryo was still too small and doctors couldn’t take it out, Dr. Phan Van Nghiem from the city Health Department was quoted by the newswire Vnexpress as saying on Tuesday.

As of late Tuesday, the ministry reported 8,853 cases of swine flu cases had been detected thus far in more than 50 cities and provinces and more than 100 schools across the country. Of these, 7,188 have fully recovered.

Of the 15 deaths so far, the first two were recorded in August and the remaining in September, including one foreigner.

Reported by Viet Ha