VietNamNet Bridge - Eight out of 183 patients infected with swine flu this year have died, the Ho Chi Minh City-based Pasteur Institute reported at a meeting on November 17.

It took the number of fatalities, since the disease claimed its first victim in May 2009, to 61, and infected people to 11,305.

The last reported case was in October.

There have been 26 deaths in the south out of 7,316 cases of infection.

In October alone 81 people in the south tested positive for the A/H1N1 virus, with one dying, according to the Institute.

Dr Nguyen Thanh Truong of the HCMC Hospital of Tropical Diseases said most infected patients had symptoms of pneumonia and breathing difficulties.

In August Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization, declared the H1N1 pandemic was over and that the world was moving into a post-pandemic period.

Around 18,450 people are confirmed to have died worldwide from H1N1, including many pregnant women and young people.

But WHO said it will take at least a year after the pandemic ended to determine the exact death toll, adding it is likely to be much higher.

Source: SGTT/Tuoi Tre