Three more swine-flu deaths reported on Monday has raised the national death toll to 35.

One of the latest victims, a nine-month-old baby from the central highlands province of Dak Lak, was admitted to the Ho Chi Minh City-based Children Hospital No.1 on October 21 with fever, cough and respiratory difficulties.

The baby had been treated with antiviral drug Tamiflu when admitted to the hospital in Dak Lak 24 days ago before being sent to the HCMC hospital, but she showed no signs of recovery and died on Monday.

Tests later confirmed she had contracted the influenza A (H1N1) virus.

Also on Monday the central city of Da Nang’s Department of Health reported a local 41-year-old man with swine flu had died.

He fell sick on October 17 with symptoms including fever, cough and sore throat, but didn’t go to the hospital until October 20. The man died on October 24, and was confirmed to have H1N1 two days later.

The central province of Phu Yen, meanwhile, recorded its latest H1N1 related death on October 25, Nguyen Thanh Truc – vice director of the province’s Department of Health said on Monday.

The woman, nine months pregnant and suffering from heart disease, died just one day after she was admitted to a local hospital, Truc said.

While Vietnam has recently recorded fewer H1N1 positive cases daily, the Ministry of Health has ordered local health clinics to administer Tamiflu to patients with flu symptoms even before testing. Local health experts are concerned that the epidemic is growing in a complicated way with more related deaths recorded.

Nineteen of the 35 deaths so far have been recorded this month.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff