Swine flu death toll rises to 54 in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar

At least 54 people in Myanmar have died from swine flu, a health official said Tuesday, after the H1N1 virus spread to a larger part of the country.

The latest outbreak of the virus began nearly a month ago with the first death reported in the country’s largest city, Yangon, on June 19.

Phyu Phyu Aye, an information officer at the Health and Sports Ministry, said six more people died in Yangon on Monday, taking the death toll to 54.

“Yangon is still the worst affected area, with 43 causalities,” she told Anadolu Agency by phone.

“H1N1 positive patients were found in three more regions, so the outbreak is happening in six regions.”

According to the ministry’s data, 274 out of a total of 671 patients tested positive for the virus in six regions -- Yangon, Sagaing, Magway, Bago, Ayeyarwady and Mon.

The ministry said swine flu is among the strains of flu that have been circulating in Myanmar seasonally since a global pandemic in 2009.