Four more people have died in South Korea from the influenza A (H1N1) virus, including a 25-year-old woman not belonging to a high-risk group, health authorities said Tuesday.
The fresh deaths brought the country's total death toll from the new flu to 52.
A 79-year-old man and two other women, aged 76 and 56 ― all classified as high-risk patients ― also died and were diagnosed with H1N1, Yonhap News Agency said, quoting the central disaster relief headquarters.
There are fears the number of victims may continue to rise, as officials were looking into at least nine other deaths suspected of being caused by the new flu.
The relief headquarters, which acts as a control room for national efforts to combat the spread of the disease, was set up last week under the Ministry of Public Administration and Security after the government raised its pandemic alert status the highest level.