¡¡OTTAWA, Oct. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Six more seniors of a Toronto nursing home have died from an unknown respiratory illness, raising the death toll to 16, Canadian officials said on Wednesday.

    "All of these elderly individuals had been previously identified as cases and had underlying medical conditions," said Dr. David McKeown, Toronto's medical officer of health.

    "There have been no new reported cases in the last 24 hours," he said.

    Public health officials said the cause for the outbreak at the Seven Oaks Home for the Aged in the city's east end remains unknown but that they are continuing testing.

    They maintained that the situation is under control. So far, 70residents, 13 employees and five visitors have been affected. A total of 38 are in hospital, 34 of them are residents, two are staff, and two are visitors to Seven Oaks.

    Meanwhile, provincial Health Minister George Smitherman said there is no evidence to suggest the outbreak has spread beyond the seniors' home.

    He noted that respiratory illnesses afflicting vulnerable patients such as seniors are not uncommon. The outbreak was being monitored by health officials and that he "is very confident that the steps have been taken are the appropriate ones.

    Anxiety over the outbreak has been aggravated by fears of SARS,which claimed 44 lives in Toronto from two outbreaks in the springof 2003. But health officials have ruled out the deadly SARS, influenza, and avian flu as possible causes of the outbreak since it began late September. Enditem