An outbreak of swine flu at a hospital in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City has left 16 patients infected and another 80 quarantined, state media reported on Monday.

The infections began on Friday at Tu Du, the largest obstetrics hospital in the southern city, when a patient due for surgery began showing signs of fever, the Vnexpress news site reported.

Other people in the hospital, including patients and medical staff, began showing flu symptoms shortly afterward.

By Saturday, 16 people had tested positive for swine flu.

Swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by the virus H1N1, originally found in pigs, which causes colds, sore throats, coughs and fever.

The first human outbreak was in 2009, according to the WHO.

Vietnam has recorded 11,000 cases of the disease since the initial outbreak.

At least 17,000 people have died of the disease worldwide. (dpa/NAN)