Two more people have died of the influenza A H1N1 virus, bringing Vietnam’s death toll from the swine flu to 22, the Ministry of Health announced Friday.

One of them was a 19-year-old youth from the northern province of Bac Giang, who was admitted to the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi two days after he showed symptoms of fever and coughing on October 4.

He died the day after, on Wednesday.

Blood tests confirmed that he had contracted the H1N1 virus, according to the ministry.

The other, a 36-year-old woman from the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, died on Thursday, three days after she fell sick.

The patient already suffered from slow physical and mental development as well as hernia, the ministry said.

So far Vietnam has reported 9,868 H1N1 infections, including 79 new cases on Friday. Of these 1,038 are still receiving treatment, while 8,808 have been discharged after full recovery.

According to some experts, the number of new H1N1-positive cases recorded is decreasing these days as some major testing centers have already halted tests, like the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute in the central region and Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute in the southern region, because they have run out of biological reagents needed.

Officials expect the disease to peak in November and December.

Reported by Lien Chau