1st swine flu-related deaths reported in Ottawa

Two people who were being treated for swine flu at Ottawa hospitals have died, cityofficials saidTuesday.

The deathsare the first related to the swine flu virus reported in the Ottawa area. The current strain of H1N1 influenza A virus has been circulatingin several countries since it first appeared in Mexico in April.

Only one of the Ottawa deaths has been confirmed as being directly caused by swine flu. A male teenager who had an underlying health condition is confirmed to have diedof swineflu atthe Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

The second person who died, a 52-year-old woman, is not from Ottawa but resides in eastern Ontario.

The woman, who also had an underlying health condition,died at the Ottawa Hospital after testing positive for the H1N1 virus although the virushas yet to be determined as the cause of death.

Health officials also announced that around 260 people had tested positive for the virus in the Ottawa area since the beginning of the outbreak and 24 have been hospitalized.

There were two other deaths from the outbreak announced Tuesday in Quebec.

No further details on those cases were available.

The deaths bring to 20 the number of people who have died across the country after getting the H1N1 virus.