HO CHI MINH CITY, July 18 (Xinhua) -- A pregnant woman from Vietnam's southern Dong Thap province and a man with diabetes from southern Tay Ninh province died on Tuesday after contracting flu virus H1N1, the two provincial health departments said on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old woman, who was 32 weeks pregnant, died in the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Tropical Diseases, but her baby has not been infected with the virus, and has been discharged from hospital after an emergency operation on the mother, said the Dong Thap Department of Health.

The 48-year-old man died after one week treatment, according to the Tay Ninh Department of Health.

Before the two latest H1N1 deaths, Vietnam's southern region reported four fatalities of the flu virus.

Vietnam experienced an H1N1 pandemic in 2009, with over 9,000 cases of people contracting the disease and nearly 20 deaths within four months of the year, according to the Health Ministry.

In a tropical country like Vietnam, the bird flu circulates the entire year round, usually reaching several peaks in the rainy season. The H1N1 virus causes pernicious respiratory infection.