Thailand's (A)H1N1 deaths rise to 130

BANGKOK, Aug 31 (TNA) - A public health expert on Monday confirmed 11 new Influenza Type A (H1N1) fatalities this week, raising the country’s official total death toll to 130.

Dr. Prasert Thongcharoen, president of the Virology Association (Thailand,) said that according to the weekly report on the swine flu outbreak in Thailand, 11 new deaths were confirmed in the past week as the country’s total A (H1N1) cases rose to 16,876.

The outbreak intensified in the provinces and it was expected that there would be totally 3 million patients, both showing symptoms and not showing symptoms, nationwide.

Dr. Prasert, who also heads the ministry's Medical and Public Health Technical and Strategy Advisory panel on A(H1N1) influenza said it is expected that the outbreak will be eased after 30 per cent of total population or 22 million persons infected with the virus.

He added that among the patients, 40 per cent were infected with virus type A(H1N1) but the seasonal flu patients were also increasing.

He warned that the strict measures should be applied to prevent the mixture between the two strain of virus.(TNA)