The patients, a 48-year-old man from Greater Glasgow and Clyde and an 81-year-old Fife woman, were both carrying the H1N1 strain.

Their deaths take the total swine flu fatalities to 14, marking a sudden increase in the number of deaths since Glasgow mother Jacqui Fletcher became the UK’s first swine flu victim in June.

On Sunday, it emerged a 42-year-old Glasgow man and a 75-year-old man from Grampian died after contracting the virus.

No further details about the latest victims would be released at the request of their families, the Government said.

While the 48-year-old patient had "significant underlying health conditions" that contributed to his death, H1N1 was a "contributory factor" in the death of the pensioner.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "Our thoughts are with the families and friends of both patients, and I express my sincere condolences to everyone who knew them. In the vast majority of cases, most people have fairly mild symptoms and make a full recovery within a week."

She added: "Vaccination is the best defence we have against the H1N1 virus and Scotland is preparing well for the first phase of the vaccination programme which is due to start later this month."

Figures released last week showed the number of people being admitted to hospital in Scotland with swine flu has reached a record high.