BRASILIA, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian authorities confirmed two more deaths caused by yellow fever on Thursday, which brought to 19 the number of mortal cases of the tropical disease, local press reported Friday.

    The two new victims, a 65-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man, were registered respectively in the states of Goias and Mato Grosso du Sul. Both were infected by the virus in January.

    According to the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, it's the first fatal case caused by yellow fever in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

    By far Brazil has reported 35 confirmed cases of yellow fever, of which 21 were in the state of Goais, and among the 19 yellow fever deaths in Brazil, 13 were in the state.

    At present, all cases reported in Brazil are so-called wild yellow fever, which does not spread from person to person.

    According to the Health Ministry, since last December, about 13million doses of yellow fever vaccines have been distributed in the country.

    Yellow fever is a viral disease that is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. It has caused extensive epidemics in Africa and America.