AUGUSTA -- Two more Maine people have died from the H1N1 flu and an H1N1 outbreak has struck a Kennebec County long-term care facility, state health officials said Saturday.

The two latest H1N1 deaths bring Maine's total swine-flu-related death toll since August to five.

A Kennebec County resident older than 65 and a Hancock County resident between 25 and 50 were the two latest H1N1 casualties. Both had other medical conditions that complicated their flu cases, like Maine's other three H1N1 deaths, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

"While most people with H1N1 in Maine and the nation have had relatively mild infections, this news demonstrates how severe influenza can be, especially in those with underlying conditions," Maine CDC Director Dr. Dora Anne Mills said in a statement released Saturday.

Health officials didn't release additional information about the deceased patients, citing privacy concerns. The officials didn't identify the Kennebec County long-term care facility struck by a flu outbreak, either.

The facility has been closed to visitors and staff members and residents have been placed on antiviral medications, including Tamiflu that comes from a state stockpile of the drug, health officials said.

The long-term care center appears to be the first in Maine with an H1N1 outbreak, largely because H1N1 more often affects people 25 and younger, according to the CDC.

The facility joins dozens of schools that have experienced outbreaks in recent weeks.

"We are working with this facility to implement the same measures as we would with a seasonal flu outbreak," Mills said in her statement.

A normal flu season in Maine claims the lives of 150, the health officials said. During that time period, a dozen outbreaks at long-term care facilities and fewer than a half dozen school outbreaks are typical.

Mills advised Maine residents to take hygienic precautions -- including frequent hand-washing and steering clear of crowds when sick -- to limit the impact of ongoing H1N1 outbreaks.

"People should assume they will be exposed to the H1N1 influenza at some point, and with very limited vaccine supplies in Maine right now, we should all take precautions to prevent serious illness," she said.