A mysterious illness kills 2 people and five are still in the hospital. Two have already died in Southeast Alabama because of mysterious respiratory illness.

Seven people were admitted to the hospital with symptoms of fever, shortness of breath and cough, stated by Mary McIntyre, the spokeswoman and the acting state epidemiologist of Alabama Department of Public Health. Two of these 7 patients have died already.

Presently, the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control Respiratory Laboratory are in the process of analyzing laboratory tests from the seven patients. So far, one of the samples had tested positive for H1N1 influenza A. The officials are hoping that the samples will be back showing preliminary results on Wednesday or Thursday morning.

McIntyre reported that the mysterious respiratory illness that kills 2 people was first reported late last week. The last of these 7 patients was hospitalized on Monday. It is not clear yet which municipalities are affected by the mysterious illness.

The spokeswoman said that it is still unclear about what is causing this mysterious illness but a few of the 7 patients are also reported to have flu. The officials have urged the hospital staff to wear masks, specifically N95 masks, when attending to the patient's care as it appears that they are suffering from a respiratory disease.

Furthermore, McIntyre said that they are only aware about the concentration of the mysterious illness in Southeast Alabama. "We're only aware of the Southeast, but we don't know, we haven't received reports from anywhere else," McIntyre stated. This is also the reason why they are trying to release any information in public; to bring awareness in other areas.

McIntyre said during an interview from NBC, "At this point it's too early to tell. That's why we called it a respiratory illness of unknown origin."