A 61-year-old man in South Korea has died after being infected with type-A influenza, raising the death toll from the contagious disease to 11, health officials said Thursday.
The man with diabetes and heart problems had been undergoing treatment at a local hospital for complications from the chronic illnesses since April. He tested positive for the H1N1 virus on Sept. 7 after showing flu-like symptoms such as high fever, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said.
Even after being administered with anti-viral drugs, his health condition recently deteriorated and the patient had remained in an intensive care unit for the past few weeks, the ministry added.
So far, South Korea has reported over 15,000 type-A flu cases. Most patients have recovered after being given antiviral medicine, but fears are growing the virus could spread more quickly as the flu season approaches.
On Wednesday, the health ministry said that it plans to spend 18.6 billion won ($15.8 million) next year conducting research on such infectious disease that can affect both humans and animals. The spending will likely be used in developing anti-viral drugs and vaccines.
The Seoul government earlier announced that it will inoculate some 13.4 million people or 27 percent of the nation's population by February next year.
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